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(a (Ay Heather] eI 4 WAkeo Pay = Te A 2 ; aoa r oo ne —— = . . a ~ 4 wis : : ee . t . * ‘ 1f m sd 2 a ad mi G) THE B GREENHOUSE, ah E HOT HOUSE, AND STOVE: \ ' - | . aot INCLUDING SELECTED LISTS OF THE MOST BEAUTIFUL SPECIES OF i EXOTIC FLOWERING PLANTS, AND DIRECTIONS 3 5 ; 2 30 25 ; Io o . 3 * ye: 2 LS FOR THEIR: CULTIVATION? +} 39> 2 >>, 7 i » 7 A ee, ; > a i ~ ; ) : 2 j é 3 » re) D } =. } 2 % > p= B) i / = 2 a Bagh i ae P j 2 DiS , ; 32 3 > d oo a a he : ‘e Kc 2 io > ; fae | | OE Soh ay o5 Fa af piste as Se eiaouenveee eS 3 Leva Pas CHARLES M‘INTOSH, P.H.S:.. te I fe ‘ < _ GARDENER TO HiS MAJESTY THE KING OF THE BELGIANS, AND AUTHOR OF “ THE PRACTICAL 4 GARDENER,” &c., LONDON: WM. S.ORR AND CO., AMEN CORNER, PATERNOSTER ROW. MDCCCXXXVIII. he we § , pa vErseX €6 c Cc Cece GRA Ce € c ¢ PRINTERS, LONDUN. Pe BP ACC R: ee a as +, THE cultivation of exotic plants has usually been treated of in works devoted to Horticultural Science generally, so that we have no modern treatise especially devoted to the management of the Greenhouse. Hence the reader whose attention is directed to this branch of the science only, is subjected to the task of wading through a mass of matter at once devoid of interest and utilityto him. The - present publication, which is strictly confined to flowering plants requiring the protection of the Greenhouse and its kindred struc- — tures, is a humble attempt to supply this want. The arrangement of the subjects is novel, and, it is believed, will be found to have many practical advantages; the work bemg divided into sections, which comprise plants requirig for the most part the same temperature and mode of management. The instruc- tions for culture are not those of a mere theorist, but derived from the daily experience of many years ; and the author has endeavoured always to use language so plam and free from technicalities as to be clearly understood by every class of readers. The prelimmary remarks on Hothouse Architecture and Modes of Heating are the result of- pretty extensive experience in these departments. Those on the latter are free from bias towards any particular mode. Experience is in this, as in all other matters, our only safe guide; a remark which is exemplified by the fate of many ingenious theories on this subject, which are rapidly falling into oblivion. | A 2 Se tee ee a ed “y ees ee 1V PREFACE. The Select Lists of Plants are compiled from notes made in the author’s own practice, and comprise most of those which are re- markable from their splendour or fragrance, or some other peculiar merit. Should any such, however, have escaped the author’s notice, the intelligent cultivator will have no difficulty in referrmg them to their respective situations in the Lists. In the course of a work of this extent, some typographical errors were to be expected; but the author is not aware of any whose meaning is not made sufficiently clear by its context without the insertion of any list of errata. Claremont, September, 1838. CONTENTS. Antiquity of the Science—Greenhouses in General—Arrangement of the Subject —Architecture—Modes of Warming by Flues—Steam—Hot Water—Manage- ment of Furnaces—Glazing—Form and Situation 3 . Page 1—56 THE HEATHERY. Situation and Form of a Heath-house—Propagation and Treatment » CALCEOLARIA Lip Pedant Re Sapa SM APPLE UE POT EE IRMA EER 2 CONSERVATORY PLANTS , Be ol iene 4 2 Motst STOVE PLANTS Stove PERENNIALS Eee ae es ea ie. 2. ee ee eee ORCHIDEE EE ORO rs Re ee gee a ORCHIDEA, pl. 2 ede vasa taes ay ae. aes. (OCU ne LLP LE LPL EOL LL LER LENO ND ES —_s At et Al all alt el ll all ct et ld dl al el dl bat bat ll ah tl a ta th se At ak Ma a ee, me PPAR LLL OO OL ee ian et ne en nen eens} —- Z ! HE eultivation of Exotic Plants, whether pursued with the view of producing fruits or flowers, is admitted to hold the highest rank in hortieul- tural science, and it would appear that a taste for the enjoyments this pursuit yields must have existed from a very early period, and that it has kept pace with the more refined and peaceful arts wherever these have flourished. The writings of Virgil, Horace, Seneca, and Martial sufficiently prove, that among the nations of antiquity a very strong attachment existed for cultivating exotic flowers and the two latter historians speak practice both of retarding and producing them prematurely by artificial means during the more luxurious days of the empire. | About the commencement of the fifteenth century, the wealthy mer- chants of Venice and Genoa began to introduce the plants of the East into Europe, and botanical collections were commenced by the inha- bitants of these opulent and enterprising cities. The wealthy Flemings also, according to Lobel, imported plants from the Levant and the East R Za GREENHOUSES. indies as early as the times of the Crusaders and under the Dukes of Burgundy, and their gardens are said to have contained more exotic plants than all the rest of Europe besides, until the civil and desolating wars of the sixteenth century diverted men’s minds from such peaceful pursuits. About the middle of the sixteenth century, a taste for exotic flowering plants began to prevail in Britain, for about this period the gardens of the Duke of Somerset at Sion House, Edward St. Loo, in Somersetshire, | James Coel at Highgate, James Nasmyth, and of the celebrated Gerrard were established; and Nicholas Lete, Sir Walter Raleigh, Lord Edward Zouch, and Lord Hudson are all recorded as importers of new and rare plants. Greenhouses and stoves were first erected in this country during the seventeenth century, and the Duke of Lauderdale, Sir Henry Cappel, and Lady Clarendon are recorded by Evelyn as patrons of exotic gardening during this period. | During the early part of the eighteenth century, the cultivation of exotic plants was carried on with great spirit, upwards of five thousand species heing introduced from foreign countries during the period, besides the discovery of many indigenous species. The great patrons of the art at this time, were Sir Hans Sloane, to whom we are also indebted for the foundation of the British Museum, the Duke of Chandos, Compton, Speaker of the House of Commons, Compton, Bishop of London, the Duke of Argyle, the Drs. Uvedale, Lloyd, Sherard, Fothergill and Pitcairn, the gardeners in most repute being Miller, Fairchild, Lee, Gordon, Knowlton, and Gray. The latter part of the eighteenth, and the beginning of the nineteenth century, however, has been the great botanical era for which this country will ever be conspicuous. The discovery of Aus- tralia, the extension of the British power in India and both the Americas —aided by the patronage of the most wealthy aristocracy in the world, including the soverign himself, who thought it not beneath his dignity to join his subjects in sending out collectors to all quarters of the globe. Their united exertions have brought a combination of power to bear on botanical discovery, which has been attended with the most happy result, to which the enterprising commercial spirit of the late Messrs. Lee aud Kennedy, the most celebrated collectors of those days, rendered essen- tial assistance. Not only have botanical and horticultural gardens been established in all our princinal cities, but private ones are maintained with princely liberality by many of our nobility and gentry, amongst whom the Dukes eee tei GREENHOUSES. a of Devonshire, Northumberland, and Bedford, deserve honourable mention. Indeed, the taste for exotic botany and floriculture seems to prevail among all classes; and the number of collectors employed in different parts of the world is a proof that the taste is rapidly increasing. a ay ss) \, a <=) Clematis Sieboldii. - B2 GREENHOUSES. BeroreE entering into any details respecting the cultivation of green- house flowering plants, it may be necessary to offer some preliminary remarks on the arrangement and erection of such structures as are neces- sary for their successful cultivation, founding our observations on the principle of economy of fuel, elegance of design, and fitness for the end in view. We cannot, perhaps, do better than precede these remarks by the accompanying view of the Duke of Northumberland’s splendid conservatory at Sion House. in taking a retrospective view of what has been already written on this subject, it would appear, that authors for the most part have confined themselves to providing for the wants of the great and the opulent, while the more humble, and by far the most numerous class of plant cultivators have been left as it were, without the benefit of instruction. To supply this deficiency will be one of the objects kept in view in the following remarks ; we shall also endeavour to treat this subject so as to embrace the greatest possible variety of circumstances, and as a rule from which there should be few deviations, we recommend the adaptation of the structure — first, to the circumstances of the proprietor; next, to the capabilities of the situation; and lastly, to the description of piants intended to be cultivated in them. ASPECT FOR A GREENHOUSE. is) In regard to situation, something depends on the taste of the owner, the style of his mansion, the extent and position of his garden, the species of enjoyment he is most desirous of obtaining, but much more on that situation being as much as possible exposed to the full influence of light and air, and as free from the shade of trees or buildings as possible. It is not necessary, however, for ordinary purposes, that the greenhouse should exactly front the meridian sun, for whether it be placed immediately in connection with the mansion, or stand as an object of decoration in the flower garden or shrubbery, its front (all other circumstances being favour- able) may be either to the south, south-east, south-west, or any of the points of the compass which intervene. No species of horticultural structure admits of such a variety of modi- fications as that now under consideration, and hence it is that we see plant houses in every diversity of relation, from the most refined perfection of taste, to the extreme point of absurdity. The success of the cultivator will, however, be found nearly in proportion to the position his house occupies between those extreme points, and the cause of failure evidently arises from a want of previous arrangement in adapting the structure te local circumstances, and the object to be attained. It frequently happens, that greenhouses are built without any previous consideration as to what plants are to be cultivated in them; this is setting out upon the worst principle possible, because, what might be an excellent situation for an Orangery or Camellia house, would be the very worst possible for a Heathery or Geranium house; the two former can accommodate them- selves to a very limited degree of light and air, while the latter cannot have either supplied in too great abundance. Again, a house intended for large specimens of plants, would be the worst possible structure for young or small plants; as for the former purpose a lofty house would be required, while for the latter it can scarcely be too low, small plants requiring to be placed as near to the light as posible. We may here observe, that one of the most common faults fallen into by greenhouse builders, is that of making them too lofty to suit the majority of plants to be cultivated in them. This fault is not only un- favourable to the plants cultivated, but occasions an unnecessary expense in the first erection, and entails a considerable annual cost ever afterwards ; low, and rather narrow houses are better for general purposes, (par- ticularly if on a small scale), than lofty and wide houses, as the plants are then placed, not only in a better position as regards light and air, but are seen to greater advantage by the observer. It is also better to have several small houses, each set apart for particular families of * 6 GREENHOUSES. plants, than to have larger houses with a view to growing them indis- criminately. Such lofty and extensive ranges of plant structures as those at Sion, Alton Towers, and other places, may be all very well in their respective places, and may not be beyond the proper scale of grandeur necessary to correspond with the princely objects surrounding them; but so far as plant culture alone is concerned, no arrangement can be more unsuccessful, as may be seen in contrasting the state of plants in such houses with those grown in structures of humbler dimensions. If it were possible, indeed, to cover a sufficient space of ground with a glass roof, under which the trees of Australia, for instance, could be seen in the full developement of their growth, there might be some advantage, but to attempt to exhibit _ any thing like the natural character of such trees in their full proportions, under such buildings as has hitherto been aimed at, is a very vain attempt. From the nature of the atmosphere in such houses, trees and plants will extend themselves till they reach the top, but during the struggle the more delicate, and often the more valuable ones, are overcome by their more robust neighbours, while even these present mere skeletons, furnished with a few branches and leaves at the top, while the naked stems, scarcely able to support themselves, are without a bud, branch, or leaf. Not so the same genera of plants cultivated in moderately sized houses: under such management they branch out from the surface of the pot upwards, covered, in their seasons, with a profusion of blossoms, delighting the eye with the brilliancy of their colours, and the sense of smelling with the fragrance of their perfume. ' As to cultivating a general collection of plants in the same house, although very generally attempted, it is by no means to be recommended. The treatment by different families of plants, varies so much at certain seasons, that the best cultivators have found, from that sure test, ex- perience, that it is better to appropriate separate houses to such families as nearly agree in culture and habit. Such is our view of the subject: plants to be well cultivated ought to be divided into groups, in a somewhat similar manner to that sketched out in the following pages. The cultivator who shall direct his attention to one, two, or more of these divisions, according to his taste and circum- stances, will be much more amply repaid, than if he were to congregate plants of discordant habits, and of different climates, into one habitation, merely for what he may choose to call variety, or a rich collection of species. The mania for accumulating species, instead of forming judicious selections of good flowering plants, has produced very baneful effects in the English 4 ADVANTAGES OF A SMALL GREENHOUSE. i gardens, not only by excluding old and good plants, merely because they had long been denizens amongst us, but by introducing many which have no other merit to recommend them than novelty; how many of the plants of New Holland are cultivated, scarcely worth the pot in which they grow, otherwise than in a botanical point of view, as may be instanced in the genera Eucalyptus, most of the Hakea, Petrophila, and Isopogon. We repeat, that if greater attention was paid to the selecting of fine flowering plants, and cultivating individual specimens well, instead of crowding our greenhouses with inferior plants, to the destruction of each other, they would present avery different appearance to what they usually do. Next to forming selections, instead of attempting collections, we would recommend to cultivators, and to amateur cultivators in particular, to confine their culture and attention to some one of the divisions we have enumerated. In this respect, our continental neighbours far excel us, and by confining themselves to the cultivation of certain families, they have become conspicuous in these departments. How far the florist has excelled the general collector in this particular, we need hardly state; by confining himself to his tulip bed, his auricula stage, or his carnation stand, he is enabled to cultivate them in great perfection,—not so the general collector ;—the ficrist has the economy of those three families to study, while the general cultivator has probably that of three thousand, and those congregated from the most opposite quarters of the globe, and existing under the greatest diversity of circum- stances. We might justify these opinions by refering to the success with which Messrs. Rollisons, of Tooting, cultivate the Hricas, and latterly the Orchidee, and of Messrs. Chandlers, of Vauxhall, in the culti- vation of Camellia, were such proof necessary ; but it speaks for itself, and the same reason applies to every pursuit of mankind; where undivided attention is given to any of our pursuits, an approximation to perfection in that pursuit may be expected. The divisions or groups into which we should like to see all greenhouse exotics arranged, would be something like the following : THe HEATHERY, THE ORANGERY, Tur Geranium Hovsez, : THE CONSERVATORY, Tue Camitiia Howse, THE PLANT VERANDA, Tue Buxs Hovss, PROTECTING TENT, THE SuccuLent Hovss, Coup Pir, THE Mixep GREENHOUSE, THe STOVE. S GREENHOUSES. To this arrangement it may be supposed that we should have added THe AQ@uARIvuM, but as most exotic aquatics are intra-tropical, we shall notice them when we come to treat on the subject of plant stoves. In the progress of this work it will be seen that arrangements have been made, which we trust will meet the views of most of our readers, by offering selections of such plants as may be admitted into each of these divisions, without infringing the rules we have laid down. And as this is the first time that such an arrangement has been recommended upon so general a principle, we shall rejoice to see it reduced to practice by some of our enterprising and intelligent readers. HOT HOUSE ARCHITECTURE. Aut horticultural erections should be of wood, in preference to metalic matter, not only because of its greater economy and fitness for the pur- pose, but also on account of durability and elegance of effect. We are perfectly aware that this has been a controverted point, but we have been SO situated as to be enabled to judge of the relative merits of both without prejudice or interest, and our conclusion, after the experience of thirty years, is in unison with those of the majority of intelligent gar- deners, who alone are capable of judging, as their conclusions are drawn from actual practical experience. It would be out of place here to enter into the merits or defects of either; but we think it necessary so far to explain our opinions on this subject, that our views may be the less liable to misconception in the remarks on the plant structures we think necessary for the production of fine flowering exotics. We are also supported in these views by Mr. Thomson, of the Sion nursery, Norwood, whose experience in those matters justify us in quoting his authority. ‘ Having had fifteen years of practical experience in managing upwards of three thousand running feet of glass,” he says, in a communication prepared by him for this work, “I am enabled to speak with some decision on the subject, and I feel fully justified, indeed, in saying, that when the respective merits of wood and iron are fully ascer- tained, the prejudice in favour of the latter will cease to exist in the minds of those practically acquainted with the properties of the two materials. The expansive power of metalic substances is very great, and so powerful have I known the action of the sun’s raysin expanding the iron rafters of a large roof on a hot summer’s day, that the strength of two, and sometimes three men has been insufficient to force down the sliding lights for the admission of air. In fully equal proportions have I wit- nessed the contraction of the metal during the intensity of winter, leaving large apertures between the rafters and the lights, and admitting the external air sufficiently to counteract the power of two strong flues. This occurrence took place in February, 1830, and the house in question was of moderate dimensions, when compared to the wood-roofed vinery I am about to contrast it with. The building was forty feet long, by sixteen - wide, and nine feet high, having a pit in the middle for the culture of pines, which very much reduced the quantity of air to be rarified. The wood-roofed vinery was fifty feet long, by fourteen feet wide, and fourteen 19 MR. THOMPSON'S EXPERIMENT. feet high, without any pit in the middle; the result of my observations on those two houses, and the quantity of fuel required by each of them, was as follows: The iron-roofed house with eighteen degrees of frost, required nearly six bushels of coals, and unremitting attention during the night and until three o’clock in the morning, while scarcely three bushels were consumed in keeping the vinery at the same degree of temperature, no attention being required after ten o’clock, at which time the fires were made up and left for the night. “Being determined to investigate thoroughly the merits of the two materials, I caused one house, constructed of wood, and another of iron, of precisely the same dimensions as regards the superficial feet of glass, to be perfectly repaired, in the autumn of 1832, and on having them examined and repaired in the following season, I found that the cost of repairing the iron house was nearly double the sum required to repair the wood one, which I attributed to the expansion of the iron in summer and its contraction in the winter. From these and other experiments I have had opportunities of making, I have arrived at the conclusion, that wood has the advantage over iron in four very essential points, viz., the saving of fuel, glass, and labour. I have also found it conducive to the better growth of plants and fruits, as I have never found the plants thrive so well or look so healthy in an iron, as in a wooden-roofed house, “J am aware that for lightness of appearance in the structure, iron has hitherto had the advantage, but I am confident that if proper attention were paid to the erection of hot houses, and to the materials used in their erection, the appearance of the wood roof would be less objectionable, and for the assistance of persons of less practical experience than myself, I here give a brief description of the materials and mode of construction I would recommend, as combining all the desired objects. The first thing to be attended to is, to give the roof a proper pitch or inclination, so as effect- ually to carry off the water, and to prevent drip into the house, which is highly injurious to all plants, particularly to those grown in pots; the rafters should be of wood, varying according to the length of the roof, from six to eleven inches in breadth, and the section of the rafter should be wedge-shaped, from three to four inches wide on the upper side, where the lights rest, and about half an inch \ wide on the under side. The strength of all rafters depend more on their depth than thickness. The shade would be also less. The four sides of the lights (all made of wood) should be as follows,—the top should be from five to six inches wide, the sides two and a half inches, and the bottom from six to GREENHOUSES. ll seven inches, and to prevent as much as possible the obstruction of light, the sash bars should be made of copper, which need not be more than half an inch square; this will give the house at once a light and neat appearance, without subjecting the plants to the injurious extremes of hot and-cold temperature, which would be the result of a roof Saas metalic, and without increasing the cost of erection. *« These few hints are thrown out for the guidance of parties desirous of erecting the most perfect kind of forcing houses ; but it will be obvious that before undertaking any structure of this kind, the various questions of locality, as well as the use for which it is wanted, must be taken into con- sideration, and on these subjects we recommend that the practical gardener should be consulted, whose experience will be found of much more utility in laying down the various conveniences essential to a well ordered house, than the architect or surveyor. I witnessed a remarkable illustra- tion of this during the past summer, in the total destruction of a fine crop of grapes, as well as of the foliage, in the hot house belonging to a gentle- man in Kent. The house was erected of cast iron, about six years ago, and the catastrophe occured through the carelessness of the architect in not providing proper ventilation, the gardener, who is admitted to be — an excellent practical one, was compelled to have holes, about a foot broad and three feet long, made in the back wall of the second house, for ventilation, these he covered by shutters hung on hinges, to prevent the fruit from sharing the same fate; he preserved the fruit by this means, but not without great injury to the foliage.” We have availed ourselves of Mr. Thompson’s opinions because he had ample opportunities of drawing unprejudiced conclusions during the period he had the direction of the extensive hot houses at Sion, which have been considered the perfection of metalic houses. To his testimony we might add that of many others of equal credit, but we shall conclude by refering the reader to the opinions of Mr. Paxton of Chalworth, Mr. M‘Murtrie of Shughborough, and Mr. Thompson, late of Welbeck, published in the Trans. of the Hort. Soc. and Hort. Reg. for ourselves. We only know of one architect who has attained any celebrity in hot house architecture, and that is W. Atkinson, Esq., of whose improvements we shall have occasion elsewhere to allude. 12 HEATING GREENHOUSES. AmonGst the various methods of heating greenhouses, hot water is certainly the most economical, efficient, and certain; but under ordinary circumstances, so little artificial heat is required for greenhouses, strictly so called, that we think the erection superfluous, unless where it can be put up at the same expense as the common flue. There are circumstances, however, where its application can be made to them with advantage, namely, when several houses are to be heated at the same time, and attached together so that one boiler may serve the purpose of several, or where the greenhouse is so placed that the back, or one of the ends, may be connected with the walls of the kitchen, or with some part of the dwelling house, where a constant fire is kept up. In this case, a boiler may be so constructed as to be heated by the fire used for domestic purposes, by means of a pipe communicating through the wall, with the pipes in the greenhouse. A small greenhouse might be heated by this means from any ordinary kitchen, or even parlour fire; a cock, upon Kewley’s prin- ciple, being placed so as to turn the hot water off or on, at pleasure. For tropical plants, where a considerable temperature is required, a hot water apparatus should be fitted up expressly for the purpose, unless the stove be of very limited dimensions, and placed so as to be heated as above; but we shall have occasion to return to this subject when we come to treat of plant stoves. The degree of heat required for greenhouses is just sufficient to repel frost and to dispel damp. To effect the former, if the winter be mild, the fire may not be requisite more than from three to twelve nights in the course of the winter, and the degree of heat need not be more than sufficient to warm the flue. When required for drying up superfiuous damp, if the house be properly glazed and care taken not to spill water unnecessarily, one or two fires during the season may be sufficient. These, let it be observed, should be applied during the day, when the house can be fully ventilated, for the escape of the damp air. It is to be observed, that when required for dispelling frost, the best, and, perhaps, the most simple rule is, not to apply the fire until the frost appear to be forming on the inner surface of the roof lights, excepting in the geranium house, where it should be applied when the frost is forming on the outer surface of the glass. The application of heat will be more fully explained under each division, as no general rule can be safely acted upon. THE DUTCH FLUE. 13 The economy of fuel is a matter of so much importance, that what- ever plan can be devised for lessening its consumption, must be received as a national benefit. Much has been written, and, we fear, to little purpose, on the economy of fuel when applied to domestic purposes. Much less has been written, and much more effected by practical ex- perience in the economy of this article, when applied to horticultural purposes; and in all probability, the perfection of the principle of heat- ing has been attained by the invention and application of the hot water system. In endeavouring to lay down rules for regulating the temperature of greenhouses, plant stoves, &c., it will sufficiently appear that the same rules are equally applicable to forcing houses, pits, and structures of every denomination. To render our views on this subject as clear as possible, we shall give a brief detail of the various modes practised, pointing out, as we proceed, the merits or defects of each. We adopt this arrangement because hot houses are erected under such a variety of circumstanees, that some one of the various modes detailed, may, in some cases, be found more convenient and practicable than others. The Dutch, to whom we are indebted for our first hints on the application of fire. heat as a medium for warming hot houses, employed earthenware or can flues at first, and, in many cases, these are employed to the present day. These consisted of pipes, similar to those used for conveying water, but of larger dimensions, being seldom less than from nine to twelve inches in diameter, they were joined together with cement, and sometimes placed upon bricks, to keep them clear of the borders, at other times they were embedded in sand, with the view of retaining the heat longer in the house. The advantages of these flues are, that they can be rapidly heated, and, therefore, may be used with advantage in greenhouses and pits where moderate fires are used, and where the intention is to repel sudden attacks of frost; but they require unusual attention, as they are quickly heated, and cool with equal rapidity. These flues were formerly much used in this country, but have long since given place to brick ones, as being more safe and steady in their operation. The next improvement in heating, originated also with the Dutch, and consisted of broad and deep flues; the former is still used very generally in Holland and Germany, and the latter is almost in universal © use in Russia. These, also, were adopted in this country, but have in their turn long ago given place to other forms. The most primitive mode in use in this country, however, was to build 14 SIR GEORGE M‘KENZIE’S FLUE. them in the ground like drains; this mode was afterwards changed to that of building them in the solid walls, either at the back or front of the house. By this means much of the heat was lost in the solid building, little of it finding its way into the house. But the most rational im- provement which followed this, was the practice of building them quite detached from all other description of walls. J. R. Gowen, Esq., in the “ Horticultural Transactions,” vol. II., pro- posed flues constructed of bricks, of the usual thickness at the sides, and hollowed out in the middle, with the view, no doubt, of attaining equa strength to the flue in general use, and admitting, at the same time, of the more ready escape of the heat into the house through the thinner parts. The covers of these flues were hollowed,out in a similar manner to JE Sir George M‘Kenzie, in the work last quoted, recommended what he called an embrasure flue, of which the annexed diagram will give some idea. The principle of this flue is that of exposing a greater heated surface in proportion to its length. This flue was found to fall far short of the expectations of its inventor, in practice, and was only in a very few cases adopted. The same intelligent gentleman proposed for trial a riangular cast iron flue; but, like the flues proposed by other individuals, of the same material, was found to possess no advantage whatever, but were liable to many objections, of which that of being rapidly heated and as soon losing their heat, were not the least. The German stove, with iron pipes for conveying smoke and heat, has been long used on the continent, but is liable to the objections stated as belonging to the last. The improved flue recommended by Mr. Loudon, in “ A Treatise on Several Improvements in Hot houses,” &c., p.33, con- sisted in dividing the flue into chambers, or compartments, with a view to arrest the progress of the heat, and to fill each chamber with smoke and heated air before the one next in front of it could become occupied with it, and so on till these chambers at last became all completely charged with heat, before any could escape at the chimney top. This, as weil as the hot air flue built on the top of the ordinary flue, recommended by the THE GERMAN FLUE. 15 same authority, were found to be inferior to the most ordinary description of flues then in use. Indeed, the latter improvement, viz., the hot air flue, the late Nicol proved “‘ to be worse than useless.” Formerly, flues were built partly under ground; only the better con- structed ones of that period were above it, but not separated from it, a circumstance which kept them continually damp, impeded the draught, and lost a very considerable portion of the heat. Succeeding improve- ments suggested the propriety of not only building all flues upon arches, or a solid foundation of brick work, but also of elevating the flue one brick or more above the level of the borders. This was the last and most important improvement in the erection of flues. We may, however, here observe, that cast iron plates were recommended as covers for flues ; and also pavement stones, as well as tiles, both plain and hollowed out, to hold water for the purpose of steaming the house. The former of these are very objectionable; the second very good, when stone of a quality capable of standing the heat to which flues are exposed can be procured ; and the third and fourth, for general purposes, the best of all. Flues constructed entirely of flag stones have been tried, but it is difficult to procure stone calculated for this purpose, besides, no stone with which we are acquainted, is so well adapted for the transmission of heat, as well prepared and not over burnt tiles and bricks. No flue should be plastered, either within or without, as plaster is a bad conductor of heat, and, therefore, very unfit for the purpose. Various other sorts of flues have been since recommended by different writers in the Horticultural Soc. Trans. and elsewhere; but as they are mostly modifications of those already noticed, it would be superfluous to attempt their descriptions. The best of all flues are those most commonly in use in well ordered houses: they are built of thin well burnt and regular sized bricks, placed on edge, and neatly jomted with well prepared mortar, but neither plastered inside nor out. Such flues vary in their dimensions from nine to twelve inches in width inside, and from fourteen to eighteen inches in height. They are always covered with tiles, either plain, or hollowed out for holding water, or with flag stones of a description calculated to stand the heat. In most cases, the flue should enter through the back wall at one end of the house, pass on to within two or three inches, or more (according as space will admit) of the front wall or parapet, run parallel with it to the extremity of the house, pass round the farther end, and return parallel to the back wall, and within two or three inches of it. Or, after having reached the extremity of the house, the flue 16 USE OF DAMPERS. may return within a few inches of the former, and in both cases the smoke will escape through the back wall near to the furnace. Two narrow flues are better than one broad one of a capacity equal to both. In narrow flues, the velocity of heat is much greater than in broad ones, therefore, it sooner reaches the end farthest from the fire, and consequently maintains a more regular degree of temperature between both ends of the house. Flues should never, if it can be avoided, be built upon the top of each other ; neither should they be placed at too great a distance from the front of the house, which is in all houses the coldest part. If a flue be placed in the centre of a house, it would appear at first sight, from the well known property of heat, that it would radiate equally from each point, and that the centre of the house would be the most proper situation for the flue to be placed in. That the heat would radiate in this manner, is quite true; but the lower and front part of the house being colder than any other parts, the pressure of the cold air would be so great, that the particles sent off by radiation from the flue, would be unable to resist it with sufficient force. It will, consequently, remain the coldest part of the house, and, therefore, the most proper situation for the flues to be placed in. The use of dampers have been recommended, and these have been of various constructions: the object to be attained by them is to regulate the heat in the flue, and also to prevent its escape from the chimney top, by confining it in the flue and causing it to escape into the house through the bricks. This would no doubt be all very well, if we were certain of the purity of the heat so enclosed, or if there were a total absence of expansibility in the nature of heat; but if heat be so enclosed, it is apt to expand to that degree, that the flues would not be able to contain it, and an explosion might be the consequence, which might prove destruction to the whole contents of the house. The best mode of regulating flues is decidedly the proper use of a good furnace, with double doors and an ash pit register. With such an apparatus and a well constructed fiue, every object of the cultivator may be accomplished. STEAM APPARATUS. In an age when steam has almost revolutionized the commercial interests of the world, we need not be surprised at its application to the purposes of horticulture. The first attempt to accomplish this appears to have been made by Wakefield, in 1788, but of the success of his plan we have no certain record. Its first successful application was made in 1792, by Butler, then gardener to the Earl of Derby; but it was not till about 1816 that the process of heating by steam became at all general. About that time the forcing-houses in Kensington Gardens, those of the Messrs. Loddiges, of Hackney, and others equally extensive, were heated by this means ; and where an extensive range of houses is to be heated, or where it can be applied to other purposes, as is done by Mr. Gray, of Hornsey, we have no hesitation in advocating this method of heating. This gentle- man, by the aid of two boilers, a large and small one, (the latter to be used when the least heat was required) warmed in his garden ten larce hot houses, the largest of them five kundred and fifty feet distant from the boiler, and containing in all above fifty thousand cubic feet of air. Be- sides this, the mansion, farm-yard, and out-offices were also heated at the same time. Among other proofs of the advantages of steam, we may state that the uniformity of the heat is such, that the tubes close to the boiler - cannot be heated beyond two hundred and twelve degrees, while, at the distance of one or two thousand feet, or, indeed, any definite number of feet, nearly the same degree of heat may be found. We have already noticed that this is the principal advantage of heating by steam. The secondary advantages are the economy of fuel and of labour, and the pos- sibility of keeping the whole hot house department in neat and compact order. Instead of a number of furnaces, stock holes, and other ordinary modes, by this method the whole may be confined to one chamber, which may be placed at a sufficient distance to be completely hidden from any part of the garden, and, instead of a number of chimney tops, each giving out its column of smoke, only one will be necessary, that being so contrived as to be hidden from the principal walks and points of view. In addition to these, may be added the small space occu- pied by the steam pipes compared with smoke flues; and their capability of passing under foot paths, over door ways, and similar obstructions, which smoke flues cannot be expected to do. A prejudice in fayour of steam seems to have arisen as soon as its C 18 ADVANTAGES OF STEAM. application became general, from the notion that houses heated by this means would be exempt from insects. No such thing is the case, for heat is the same material, and has the same effect, whether given out from a steam pipe, hot water pipe, or a well jointed and smoke-tight flue. The expense of erecting a steam apparatus for the purpose of heating hot houses of ordinary dimensions, would be extravagant. But other objections might be stated against its application by means of tubes, had not the mania for heating by steam given way to the more rational one of heating by hot water. Steam has been applied in a variety of ways in heating plant houses, but that of causing it to heat a mass of building materials, rough roubell stones or pebbles, appears to us to have been the most rational and economical. This plan was tried by that eminent garden architect, John Hay of Edinburgh, so early as 1807, and has been subsequently improved upon in many of the gardens built by him since that period. When this mode of heating is intended to be applied, the interior of the house, which is usually occupied with the bark bed, or pit, m which the plants are plunged, is filled to the thickness of from three to four feet, that is, to about the depth of the tan bed formerly used, with stones, broken to the size of from three to six inches in diameter. Through this mass the steam pipe passes, perforated with small holes along its two sides, for the escape of the steam, which thus enters and heats the mass of stones. When once heated, these will retain warmth, sufficient for tropical plants, for twenty four hours in the coldest weather, and for two or three days in mild weather. From this it would appear, that the steam has only to be let on at these periods; at all other times it may be dispensed with or applied to other purposes. When the steam is let on to heat this mass of matter, it should be continued until it ceases to condense amongst the stones—a proof that they are heated to its own temperature. é The superfluous steam of manufactories or engines might be economi- cally applied to heat plant houses upon this principle. And we are also of opinion that it might be applied in such situations to heat pits for pines, grapes, peaches, and strawberries, which would render these fruits as plentiful, and nearly as cheap at Christmas as at Midsummer. A very lengthened account, accompanied with several engravings, showing the operation of heating upon Hay’s principle, has been published in the Memoirs of the Caledonian Horticultural Society, to which those particularly interested are referred. Steam, for this purpose, has been turned into vaults under the plant house, but not with the satisfactory STEAM CISTERNS. 19 result anticipated ; and others have filled the space with faggots, through which the steam circulated, but with no better effect. Broken bricks we conclude to be the best material to use for this purpose, as they are better retainers of heat than hard stones, but these may be objected to on account of their being less durable. Steam has also been applied to heat a large cistern of water, placed in the centre of the house, and under where the plants stand. To explain the operation of this process, let us suppose, that instead of a bark bed, a tank of the same length and breadth is substituted, and filled with water about a foot or eighteen inches deep. Through this volume of water a two inch steam pipe is made to enter at one end, and after proceeding to the extremity, is made to return again to the end at which it entered. The steam is let into these pipes about twice a day, and the temperature of the water is ascertained by leaving a small opening at each end, into which a thermometer can be introduced. These openings also answer another purpose, namely, admitting a portion of vapour into the house. Over such cisterns a flooring of bricks is formed, sup- ported upon cast iron bearers, on which the plants are set. Some have recommended stone pavement for this purpose, and others have used boarding, but neither of these are so well calculated for the transmission of heat, as twelve inch tiles. In Stothart’s description of this kind of heating, published in the first volume of the Hort. Soc. Trans., second series, it is recommended, that over a flooring of tiles laid without mortar, a bed of broken stones or bricks, about a foot in thickness, should be laid, broken small, so that those towards the top may not be greater in diameter than about two inches, over this is placed a covering of coal ashes, into which the plants are to be plunged. ‘ As we do not advocate the principle of plunging plants in pots, unless under extraordinary circumstances, we confess ourselves at a loss to divine the utility of either the stones or coal ashes in this operation. Steam has also been advantageously applied to heat water contained in tubes laid through plant houses, in a similar manner to flues or hot water pipes. The rationale of this plan is to heat a volume of water by means of steam, to a certain temperature, which will, for a considerable length of time afterwards, continue to give out its heat in a very gradual and gentle manner. As this appears to us to be one of the most rational modes of applying steam as a medium to heating hot houses, we shall quote the following account of it from the last edition of the Encyclopedia of Gardening. “It is well known,” says the intelligent compiler of that valuable work, “that, by the common hot water apparatus, the heating c 2 ~_ 20 ADVANTAGES OF STEAM. of an extensive and unconnected establishment of houses by one fire, is impracticable in most cases; but, in the mode here represented, the ex- tent of application is in a manner unlimited, whatever be the number or situation of the houses requiring heat. It likewise combines all the advantages of steam as a conductor of heat, with that of a bulk of water as aretainer. The water pipes are eight inches in diameter, and about twenty eight feet long. The steam pipe of one inch in diameter, entering at the centre of one end, and proceeding in rather an inclined direction to the other, is then returned, still inclining, and passed out at the bottom of the bore, immediately under the place where it entered. It is then formed into a siphon, about three feet deep, whence the condensed water is conveyed away. A smaller pipe is also connected with the top of the large one, to receive the increase of water by expansion when heated, which, as the large pipe cools, returns into it again.” Under the line of these tubes is a hollow flue or air chamber, and over this is another flue or chamber, in which the water pipes lie. ‘‘ The air being admitted from the air chamber underneath, through an opening extending the whole length of the pipes, and passing through the upper chamber on each side of the pipes, is discharged through the grating” in the floor “through the house. Shallow cisterns are connected withthe upper part of the pipes, about eighteen inches from each other, by means of hollow screws, which admit the water to pass to and fro reciprocally; the capacity of the cistern is more than sufficient to receive the increased bulk of the water, which expands when heated, and returns again into the pipes as the water cools.” The direction of the pipes upon this principle is similar to the generality of hot water pipes, viz., passing along the front of the house, turning round at the ends, and continuing along parallel to the back wall. ‘The external diameter of the front pipes is thirteen inches, and of the back pipes ten inches and a half; each set of pipes is divided in the middle of their length, except that the nearest division of the front pipes return about half way round, the end being in length more than sixty feet. These water pipes have one inch and a quarter steam pipe, extending in them their whole length, and returning again, preserv- ing a regular inclination throughout. The back pipes have steam pipes one inch in diameter, passing through them in a similar way, and the feeding pipes are so arranged that each division may be heated separately, or in conjunction with the rest. Another advantage attending this mode of applying heat is, that as no returning pipes are necessary as in the common hot water apparatus, the bulk of water is doubled, with the same extent of heating surface, and the returning power of the apparatus is ADVANTAGES OF STEAM. rt | doubled accordingly. The cisterns are farther serviceable in regulating the humidity of the house, which can be done with the greatest accuracy by attending to the covers.” Several other modes of heating by steam could be mentioned, but as they appear to us to possess no particular merit over those already noticed, we think it superfluous to allude to them. The most complete and scientific steam apparatus hitherto erected in this country for heating piant houses, is that of his Grace the Duke of Northumberland, at Sion House; this was erected entirely under the superintendence of the late Mr. Tredgold, a civil engineer of great professional attainments, who was cut off in the prime of life, a loss to all who had the pleasure of his acquaintance, as well as to science. ; 22 HOT WATER APPARATUS. Economy and simplicity in all improvements connected with domestic or horticultural affairs ought to claim our particular attention, and of all the improvements of which late years have been so productive, we know none of greater importance than that of heating by means of hot water. ‘“‘ Neither the capabilities,’ says Mr. Hood, in his excellent treatise, “ of this method of warming, nor the various useful purposes to which it is applicable, are at present fully appreciated. There are no buildings, how- ever large, to which it cannot be advantageously adapted, nor any that present insurmountable difficulties in its practical application. It is an in- vention yet only in its infancy, but which gives promise of a maturity that will confer the greatest advantages where its employment is the most extensive.” It appears, from undoubted authority, that the idea of heating by this means was, to a certain extent, understood and applied in France, prior to 1777, by M. Bonnemain, a physician of some eminence, as appears from the articles Assainissement, Chaleur, Incubation, in the Dictionnaire Technolo- gique. Bonnemain’s attention seems to have been drawn to this mode of attaining a steady and moderate degree of heat, with a view to apply it to the process of hatching chickens, a profession he carried on very success- | fully for some years in the neighbourhood of Paris, and there is little doubt but that he took the idea from an art long practised in Egypt of hatching chickens in ovens built for that purpose. His mode of hatching chickens by the aid of hot water is described in Gill’s Technological Repository for February, 1828. M. Chopineau is stated to have employed hot water fora similar purpose, but at what period is not stated, either in the Nouveau Cours d@’ Agriculture, or The Encyclopedie Methodique, in both of which works his process is described. M. Bonnemain certainly applied hot water to the heating of stoves and greenhouses ; but whether with complete success or not, we have no positive record. In the year 1799, we learn from Gill’s Technological Re- pository, that Mr. R. Weston purposed to apply heat to stoves by this means; but it does not appear that any progress was made from his suggestions. The Marquis de Chabannes, according to the preface to an edition of his work, dated 1818, arrived in this country in the year 1787. In 1814, he says “the idea first struck him of constructing his caloriferze or hot air stove; and from what we can comprehend from his rambling and flighty work, it HOT WATER APPARATUS. 23 was not till a year or two afterwards, that he applied himself to the system of heating rooms, and afterwards hot houses, by means of hot water. That the Marquis, in theory, understood the principle of circulat- ing hot water in tubes, the following quotation from his treatise wiil clearly shew. ‘The most perfect definition I can give of the circulation of hot water,’ he says, “‘is by comparing the boiler to the human heart, and the effect of caloric upon liquids, to the circulation of blood in our veins. The fire is the power which gives motion to the water, as the admission of oxygen into our lungs causes the circulation of our blood. A pipe is placed at the top, which may have any length or winding, but must finally return to the bottom of the boiler. The caloric which passes into the liquid, rises to the upper pipe and communicates itself to the liquid in it, which loses that heat as it flows through the pores of the metal, or a reservoir which may be placed in its passage for the purpose of extracting it, becomes gradually cooler, and in that state pressing on the rarified pipe which issues from the top of the boiler, re-enters at the bottom in proportion to what goes out above, thus causing a continual circulation, and the liquid coming in contact with the fire at a colder tem- perature, (and besides with friction), extracts a still greater portion of caloric.” Whether he was the inventor of the plan he lays down, however, does not so clearly appear. Our opinion is, that he had no share in the invention, but only acted upon the suggestions thrown out by Bonne- main and others; for we find by the following passage translated from Encyclopedie Methodique, that Bosc witnessed some experiments in 1816, or before that period. ‘I witnessed,” he says, “ some trials made in the gardens of the Museum, of heating the hot houses by means of copper pipes filled with hot water incessantly renewed. But that plan was given up, because the heat was found, in all weathers, too equal in degree, and too weak during frosty weather.” So it would appear, that in France at least, the theory had been for some time known, and it is not improbable that Chabannes, who was little better than an adventurer, took the credit of all he had learned in France to himself. It also appears, that however he might understand the theory, in its ap- plication he was not so successful; for with all the advantages attending So important a discovery, and the great pains he took to make his theory known to the public, it remained almost unknown until about the year 1822, when it was brought most completely into practical operation by William Atkinson, Esq., in his hot houses at Grove End, Paddington, and afterwards in several gardens in various parts of England, under his imme- diate inspection. Mr. Atkinson’s original apparatus consisted in connecting 24 HOT WATER APPARATUS. a boiler, as represented in the accompanying engraving, with a fire beneath it, With a reservoir, by means of two iron pipes, the top one to carry the hot water to the reservoir, the other to carry the cold water back again to the boiler. A great deal has been also said of the discoveries of the late Mr. Anthony Bacon, in regard to hot water, as applied to hot houses, We know, upon unquestionable authority, that Mr. Bacon did not know of, nor did he believe in the principle of circulation, until it was ex- plained to him by Mr. Atkinson. We made a journey, in 1828, to Mr. Bacon’s gardens at Abearnen, in Glamorganshire, for the express purpose of seeing his operations, and there saw his original apparatus, which he never could bring into any degree of useful action. His latest improve- ments were to be seen in a greenhouse attached to his mansion, and we had the authority of his gardener (who appeared to beasensible well in- formed man), for stating that they were so defective, as to be incapable of resisting the frost, although there was at the time (November) a fire under the boiler which consumed nearly a quarter of a ton of coals daily. A ds an a Yi UY Y Mr. Bacon’s first apparatus consisted simply of a piece of large cast iron pipe, closed at both ends, about twelve feet long, as represented in the accompanying diagram, with an open tube near one end for the purpose of supplying it with water. The fire was applied under one end of the tube, which, presenting so small a surface to its action, was long in MR. TREDGOLD’S THEORY. 25 heating, and the waste of fuel enormous. When it did become heated so as to boil, the water flowed over at the top of the open tube. Finding that this plan did not answer his expectations, Mr. Bacon had a tin model made with boiler and reservoir, as in the ordinary one of the pre- sent day, but with only one pipe; and so pertinaciously did he adhere to his favourite theory that, till he saw Mr. Atkinson’s models in operation at Grove End, he would not believe but that every useful purpose would be effected by one pipe only. We have been led into this slight digression, because we know the pains that has been taken to deprive Mr. Atkinson of the merit of bringing this mode of heating into practice, and to divide the merit between the Marquis de Chabannes and Mr. Bacon, neither the one nor the other having been able to apply it to the purposes to which it is now so generally applied. The former, as we have already stated, acted upon the discovery of Bon- nemain and others, and the latter neither knew its theory nor application. The most scientific, and at the same time the most clear and compre- hensive explanation of the principles of heating by hot water hitherto published, is im a communication to the Horticultural Society, and published in their Transactions, Vol. VII., by the late Mr. Tredgold the civil engineer, which we regret that our limits will not admit of giving at length. The following quotations from that excellent paper will be found useful. “In order to develope the principles,” says Mr. Tredgold, “ on which a hot water apparatus acts, we may select the simple case of two vessels placed on a horizontal plain, with two pipes to connect them, the vessels being open at the top, and the one pipe connecting the lower parts of the vessels and the other their upper parts. = 17 ANY \iA \Y 7) ; j \ \ Z Woy “Jf the vessels and pipes be filled with water, and heat be applied to the vessel A, the effect of heat will expand the water in the vessel A, and its surface will, in consequence, rise to a higher level (a), the former general level surface being 4 4. The density of the fluid in the vessel A will also decrease in consequence of its expansion; but as soon as the 26 HOT WATER APPARATUS. column (¢ d) of fluid above the centre of the upper pipe is of a greater weight than the column fe above that centre, motion will commence along the upper pipe from A to B, and the change this motion produces in the equilibrium of the fluid, will cause a corresponding motion in the lower pipe from B to A, and in short pipes the motion will obviously con- tinue till the temperature be nearly the same in both vessels, or if the water be made to boil in A, it may also be boiling hot in B, because the ebullition in A will assist the motion.” Here Mr. Tredgold goes at some length into an investigation of some of the most important points relating to motion that requires attention in prac- tice, which want of space compels us to pass over. We cannot, how- ever, refrain from making the following quotations: “‘ From the common principles of hydrostatics and the equations we have obtained,” says Mr. Tredgold, “‘ the following practical deductions may be derived. “Ist. The more expansible the liquid is, by a given change of tem- perature, the greater will be the velocity. “2nd. All other things being the same, the velocity will be increased in proportion to the square root of the depth of the boiler, therefore, in a boiler four times as deep, the velocity will be doubled. “ 3rd. If there be sufficient service of pipe for the object required, a reservoir is not necessary to the motion of the water : asimple bent pipe as in the annexed diagram, being all that is essential to motion ; the reservoir is only to receive a hot mass of water to maintain the heat after the fire has gone out. SO “4th. If a boiler has sufficient surface to receive the effect of the fire, and the whole apparatus contains as much water as will convey the heat from the fire to the heating surface in the time corresponding to its velocity, its capacity need not be further increased, except as a reservoir of heat to act when the fire ceases to burn. “Sth. Where heat is required only during the action of the fire, a nee surface in proportion to its capacity may be used with advantage, to give MR. TREDGOLD’S THEORY. 27 off heat over the descending pipe, as in the annexed figure ; cooling in this manner will increase the velocity. ~ LL A = WAV ml TM AT ATTTAEOATtATH TTT ii sitll HH AH AUR ARTUULAFUAHEARL UT UH Ea “6th. The aperture of the upper pipe should not be more than about one inch below the surface of the water, or as much as prevents it draw- ing air, in an open boiler, but the lower it is below that, the less effect will be obtained; the lower pipe should enter the boiler where it has less tendency to cool and check the fluid rising to the upper pipe from the fire surface. “7th. In a close boiler a pipe, at any distance from the boiler, may rise to any height and descend again, but it must neither rise twice nor dip after leaving the boiler ; when it is necessary to raise it, there should be an open pipe inserted at each extremity of the height of the rise; advantage has been taken of this circumstance to avoid door ways, as in the annexed diagram. AWWW AAS et ooo We cnceareererntif OTANI UATE = ee == i OAT LEE WC RR We | QY( W) y \\s" “8th. A certain quantity of motion would be obtained by a single horizontal pipe between any points except the bottoms of the vessels ; but 28 HOT WATER APPARATUS. the nearer to the surface the more motion will be obtained, and with one pipe there must be a double current in it.” This was the principle con- tended ~for by the late Mr. Bacon, who mistook the double current, that is, the hot water flowing along the top part of the pipe and the colder returning to the boiler near its lower side, and calculated that water as a conductor of heat, by one particle giving off its heat to the next, it would in time heat the whole column contained in the pipes, which no doubt it would, but not with rapidity. This doctrine is contrary to the rules laid down by the late Count Romford, who considered water as a nonconductor; but the experiments of Dr. Thompson, Mr. Nicholson and others have proved to the contrary. “9th. The retarding effect of friction is directly as the length, and inversely as the diameter of the pipes; itis also increased by every bend and angle in the pipes.” The thirteenth paragraph of this excellent paper thus proceeds : “13th. Having considered the circumstance necessary to the motion of the fluid in pipes, the next inquiry must be the quantity of heat a liquid can convey in a given time, and the quantity of surface required to com- municate it to the air of the house. It is a fact not so generally known as it ought to be, that if we communicate a certain quantity of heat to a liquid, it will give out the same quantity again in cooling to its former temperature, less nor more it cannot afford. It is equally true, that with the same temperatures, equal and like surfaces give off equal quantities of heat to air, and consequently, the quantities of heat exchanged under given circumstances, are measurable quantities, and this subtile element is brought within the domain of science.” The conclusions arrived at by Mr. Tredgold on this subject are, that for the generality of hot houses, double the number of feet contained in the area of the surface of glass will be equal to the number of cubit feet of ir, which that surface (that is, the surface of pipes,) should heat per minute when in full action; but the surface of the apparatus will give off heat of different-degrees of temperature according to the materials they are formed of and the different liquids they are charged with. Thus thirty two and a half feet of pipe charged with linseed oil, will heat a space equal to that heated by one hundred and six feet when brine is employed, or one hundred and sixteen feet when clear water is used. The advantage, therefore, of using a fluid capable of bearing a high temperature without boiling is very considerable in lessening the quantity of surface of pipe required, but oil is of too inflamable a nature to be used for general purposes with safety. And in regard to the materials the pipes are MR. HOOD’S THEORY. 293 formed of, it appears that earthenware, or bright tinned iron pipe require to be of greater size than cast iron ones, to produce a like effect. The cause of the circulation of hot water in pipes has been variously explained, and the theory laid down by Tredgold, before alluded to, was considered the most rational and complete. The correctness of that opinion has, however, lately been called in question by Mr. Hood, who observes that the theory of Tredgold will not account for the circulation of water, under all circumstances, and every variety of form of the ap- paratus; and as the cause of motion must be the same in ali cases, any explanation which will not apply universally must necessarily be erroneous. = a | i | A J ma ye Z————' | In order to explain his theory Mr. Hood proceeds, “let us suppose heat to be applied to the boiler A,” in the accompanying diagram. “ A dilatation of the volume of the water takes place, and it becomes lighter ; the heated particles rising upwards through the colder ones, which sink to the bottom by their greater specific gravity, and they in their turn become heated and expanded like the others. This intestine motion con- tinues until all the particles become equally heated, and have received as much heat as the fuel can impart to them. But as soon as the water in the boiler begins thus to acquire heat, and to become lighter than that in the opposite vessel B, the water in the lower horizontal pipe d, is pressed with a greater weight at z than at y, and it therefore moves towards A with a velocity and force equal to the difference in pressure at the two points y and z. The water in the upper part of the vessel B would now assume a lower level, were it not that the pipe e furnishes a fresh supply of water from the boiler to replenish the deficiency. By means of this unequal pressure on the lower pipe, the water is foreed to circulate through the apparatus, and it continues to do so as long as the water in B is colder, and therefore heavier, than that which is in the boiler; and as the water in the pipes is constantly parting with its heat, both by. radiation and conduction, while that in the boiler is as continually re- ceiving additional heat from the fire, an equality of temperature can never occur, or else f it did, the circulation would cease.” HOT WATER APPARATUS. 30 “We see, then,” says Mr. Hood, “ that the cause of the circulation is the unequal pressure on the lower pipe of the apparatus, and that it is not the result of an alteration which takes place in the level of the water, as has been erroneously supposed.” ee wee , ANN CAG Wats Nt rae raieain ye ? 4 ol HOT WATER BOILERS. We consider that to arrange a complete hot water apparatus, some attention ought to be paid to adapt the boiler to the circumstances of the case. This we believe has been too little attended to, and of course some of the features attending heating by this means may be safely attributed to a disregard to some fixed principle in this respect. On this subject Mr. Hood, already quoted, observes, “‘In adapting the boiler to a hot water apparatus, it is not necessary, as is the case with a steam boiler, to - have its capacity exactly proportional to that of the total quantity of pipe which is attached to it; on the contrary, it is sometimes desirable even to invert this order, and to attach a boiler of small capacity to pipes of large size. It is not however meant, in recommending a boiler of small capacity, to propose also that it should be of small superficies; for it is indispensable that it.should present a large surface to the fire, because, in every case, the larger the surface on which the fire acts, the greater will be the economy of fuel, and therefore, the greater will be the effect of the apparatus. The following figures of boilers are those in common use, and each has of course its peculiar advantages and defects. Figure 1 is the form first used by Mr. Atkinson, and in many cases such a form is still used by that gentleman and by others. Its advantages, like those of 2 and 3, are, that when the water in them is once heated, . they retain their heat longer. Their disadvantages, on the other hand, are, that although it is true in fact that such boilers retain their heat longer than some others do, yet that is not a sufficient reason for their By HOT WATER APPARATUS. adoption, for the same effect can be accomplished by using larger sized pipes, or by having a reservoir at one end of the apparatus so contrived, by being enclosed in brick work or other non-conducting materials, as will prevent such reservoir from giving off much of its heat by radiation, and the heat so retained in such reservoir will give out its heat to the pipes as the heat entering them from the boiler decreases. Or if the communication between such a reservoir and the pipes be cut off by a stop cock, the maximum temperature can be attained in the pipes in a much shorter period than if the whole volume of water had been con- tained in the boiler. The advantages of small boilers, such as Nos. 4, 5, 6, and 7, and also of the annexed fig., providing that an extreme be not fallen into, is, that hie SSS ££ £5 SS GVG—ewwwww; boilers containing a small quantity of water become sooner heated, require less consumption of fuel, and the rapidity of the circulation is more rapid from them than in others. “There is,” says Mr. Hood, “no advantage whatever gained by using a boiler which contains a large quantity of water; for as the lower pipe brings in a fresh supply of water as rapidly as the top pipe carries the hot water off, the boiler is kept always absolutely full.” The capacity of the boiler and its operations depends a great deal on the extent of its surface exposed to the action of the fire, and this surface should in all cases be proportioned to the quantity of pipe intended-to be heated by it. To ascertain this, the following simple data has been laid down by Mr. Hoed, ‘“ reckoning the surface which a steam boiler exposes to the fire, at four square feet for each cubic foot of water evaporated per _ hour, and calculating the latent heat of steam at one thousand degrees, — -we shall find that the same extent of boiler surface which would evaporate MR. HOOD’S THEORY. 33 a cubic foot of water, of the temperature of fifty two degrees, into steam, of which the tension is equal to our atmosphere, would supply the requisite heat to two hundred and thirty two feet of pipe, four inches in diameter, when the temperature is to be kept at one hundred and forty degrees above that of the surrounding air. The following calculations showing the surface which a boiler for a hot water apparatus ought to expose to the fire, will be found useful.” Surface of Boiler exposed to the fire. 4-in. Pipe. 3-in. Pipe. 2-in. Pipe. oz Square feet will heat 200 feet or 266 feet or 400 feet 54 = ie! 300 400 600 7 a. = 400 533 800 84 vas as 200 666 1000 12 ae + 700 933 1400 17 si =e 1000 1333 2000 “A small apparatus ought, perhaps, to have rather more surface of boiler, in proportion to the length of the pipe, than a larger one; as the fire is less intense, and burns to less advantage in a small than in a large farnace. It depends, however, upon a variety of circumstances whether it will be expedient to increase the quantity of pipe in proportion to the surface of the boiler, beyond what is here stated; for although many causes tend to modify the etfect, the above calculation will be found a good average proportion, under ordinary circumstances. The effect de- pends greatly upon the quality of the coals, the height of the chimney, the rapidity of the draught, the construction of the furnace, and many other particulars ; but it will always be found more economical, as regards the consumption of fuel, to work with a larger surface of boiler at a moderate heat, than to keep the boiler at its maximum temperature.” As the data from which the above calculations are made assumes the difference between the temperature of the pipe and the space to be heated to be one hundred and forty degrees, (the pipe being two hundred degrees and the air sixty degrees,) it consequently follows that if the temperature be reduced either by a dimunition of heat in the apparatus, or by the air in the space to be heated being higher, then, the same surface of boiler will be enough for a greater length of pipe. For example, if the difference of temperature between the water and the air be more than one hundred and twenty degrees, then the same surface will heat one sixth more length of pipe, or if the difference of these temperatures do not exceed one hundred degrees, that one third more length of pipe may be heated by the same means. D 34 HOT WATER APPARATUS. The only other improvement in heating houses to which we shall now call attention, is a boiler invented by Mr. Thomson of the Sion nursery at Norwood. This gentleman states in a communication prepared for this work, that having devoted considerable attention to this subject, and tried many kinds of boilers, he turned his attention to forming one that would combine the various requisite qualities of economy of fuel, with a sufficient degree of heat, and which would not involve such constant attention as the boilers in common use require. The advantages of the present invention consists in the great surface the boiler presents to the action of the heat, and the introduction of a check draft and flange filled with water to divide the flues. Another and a very important advantage is, that between the double doors and the bars of the furnace, there is a piece of iron placed, one foot three inches long, by one foot wide, which acts as a carbonizing plate, so that when the fire begins to burn strong enough to heat the iron, nearly the whole of the smoke is consumed. Front Elevation. But ovr description will be better understood by reference to the figures, the first of which represents the front elevation of the apparatus, the various parts of which are indicated by reference letters in the accompanying engravings. MR. THOMPSON’S BOILER. SS = ALO patti le i ————— ames Ze S _—_ HAT VORHTTECSEHERCRHMEANN HTASE PUTT aNN ta es ts # f anni TT TAH Se aA OTIC Longitudinal Section. 1 er ie) (ul S| 36 HOT WATER APPARATUS. The second figure represents a transverse section across the boiler and furnace, A being the furnace in which the fuel is placed, which is entirely surrounded with the boiler, except on the under side. B is a check draft, over which the heat, flame, and smoke pass to a small aperture C, in the back of the boilers, which is represented in figure 3, communicating with the flues D D, which surround the lower part; these flues, D D, unite and pass through an opening (E, figure 1) in the flange, over the furnace door to the flue F F, represented in figure 3; this flue surrounds the upper part, and terminates at the brick flue G, which is furnished with a damper to regulate the draft, and there will scarcely be a particle of heat lost by continuing this flue to the most distant part of the building. The boiler H in figure 4, is in the form of anegg. It is represented in the plan with a chamber all round, connected by the check-draft B, and surrounded with the flange I fig. 1, which divides the upper and lower flues. K is a cylindrical chamber on the top of the boiler, on which is the iron cap I fig. 1, either fixed or moveable, as may be required ; M M are the two outlet we VETS SCOOT Wenn = Aa HH: ull aT ——— ———_ Ground Plan of the Furnace and Boiler. pipes, communicating with the upper part of the boiler, through which the hot water circulates. After passing to the outside of the brick work, the pipes are ramified into as many branches as may be required; N N are the two return pipes which enter the lower part of the boiler; O is the ash pit, with a door, Q, to regulate the draft. The furnace has double HOT WATER APPARATUS. 37 doors, P, to exclude the external air. The boilers represented in these four figures are intended for houses of moderate dimensions, and the manufacturer states them to be the most economical yet made. Section of a Circular Boiler. Figure 5 represents the section of a circular boiler, with an additional chamber and flue surrounding the lower part; this boiler is circular, and only two feet eight inches in diameter across the bottom, in the clear of the brick work, and three feet high. “During each winter,” says Mr. Thomson, ‘I made use of this boiler, with which I heated four hundred and forty eight feet of three and four inch pipe, which warmed two large greenhouses or stoves, sixty feet by sixteen, and sixty feet by fourteen, together with two pits sixty feet by eight, and sixty feet by six. The whole were kept up at their respective temperatures during the severest part of last winter without any difficulty, the only fuel required being cinders or very small coke, with the refuse cuttings from the nursery, and at no time did it require more than four baskets of such fuel in the twenty four hours,” 38 HOT WATER APPARATUS. “‘Having devoted considerable time and attention to heating houses with hot water, and watching the thermometer, both out of doors and in the house, for several years, but more particularly during the last and present year, and by accurate calculations of the number of feet of surface glass exposed to the weather,” Mr. Thompson adds, “‘I am enabled to estimate very correctly the number of feet of surface of pipe required to command, with all extremes of weather, any specified degree of heat, either in the stove or greenhouse: the want of proper attention to this highly important part, namely, calculating the radiating surface of glass, and then esti- mating the proper quantity of pipe necessary to produce certain degrees of heat in all weathers, is the cause of many of the complaints against the system of heating by means of hot water.” FURNACES ADAPTED FOR HOT WATER BOILERS. As a much more moderate and uniform heat is required for the proper working of a hot water boiler, than for many other purposes—the steam engine for example—a furnace, so constructed that a moderate heat may be obtained, and by which combustion may go on slowly, is all that is required. The following excellent directions on this subject, by Mr. Hood, are worth attention. “The heat should be confined, as much as possible, within the furnace, by contracting the farther end of it, at the part called the throat, so as to allow only a small space for the smoke and inflamed gases to pass out. The only entrance for the air should be through the bars of the grate, and the heated gaseous matter will then pass directly upward to the bottom of the boiler, which will act as a reverberatory, and cause a more perfect combustion of the fuel than would otherwise take place. The lightness of the heated gaseous matter causes it to ascend the flue, forcing its passage through the throat of the furnace with a velocity proportional to the smallness of the pas- sage, the verticle height of the chimney, and the levity of the gases arising from their expansion by the heat of the furnace.” “Tn this arrangement the whole of the air which supports the com- bustion passes through the fire below, and any air admitted at the furnace door, between the fuel and the boiler, reduces the intensity of the heat.” We ought here to observe that the most extravagant waste of fuel arises from air being admitted in this manner, either from improper furnace doors or from their being left open, or partially so, all cases of the most common MR. HOOD’S CALCULATIONS. 39 occurrences. It should be a rule from which we know of only one excep- tion, that no air should be admited into the furnace, beyond that which is absolutely necessary to cause and to maintain combustion, and even that quantity should be made to enter the furnace at the bottom, and to pass through the volume of fuel undergoing combustion. The solitary exception above alluded to is in the case of coal being used, which emits a more than usual quantity of flame, as some of the Stafford- shire and most of the Scotch coal do. In such cases air may be advan- tageously admitted over the fuel and will aid the more perfect combus- _tion of the gaseous matter with which such coal is charged. The following table and practical remarks have been laid down by Hood. “The quantity of coal which is required to be burnt in each particular furnace must determine the area of the bars, and as this has been ascertained experimentally for steam boilers it is merely necessary to reduce it to a standard suitable for a hot water boiler. This data being obtained, there will be no difficulty in determining the proper size of furnaces, which is, we think, of much importance. Supposing the ordinary kind of furnace bars to afford about thirty inches of opening for the air in each square foot of surface, measured as the bars are placed in the furnace, and allowing half inch openings between the bars, when the bars themselves are about one inch and a half wide, then the relative proportions between the area of the bars and the length of the pipe should be as follows :— Area of Bars. 4-in. Pipe. 3-in. Pipe. 2-in. Pipe 75 square inches will supply 150 feet or 200 feet or 300 feet 100 *= by 200 266 400 150 a5 ae 300 400 600 200 e =e 400 533 800 SB oka 43 500 666 1000 300 ar rr 600 800 1200 400 ze = 800 1066 1600 500 z. a 1000 5333 2000 “Thus suppose there are six hundred feet of pipe, four inches in diameter, in an apparatus, then the area of bars should be three hundred square inches, so that thirteen inches in breadth and twenty three in length will give the requisite quantity of surface; but when it is required to obtain the greatest heat in the shortest time, the area of the bars should be increased, so that a larger fire may be produced.” | “In order to make the fire burn a long time without attention,” a very important consideration, and probably also to a greater extent than is usually thought in the economy of fuel, “ the furnace should extend beyond 40 HOT WATER APPARATUS. the bars both in length and breadth, and the coals which are placed on this blank part of the furnace, in consequence of receiving no air from below, will burn very slowly, and will only enter into complete combustion when the coal which lies directly on the bars have burned away.” It has been laid down as an invariable rule by a very competent judge, that no pipes should be used for this purpose of a greater diameter than four inches, nor less than three inches, unless in the case of pits or any small houses, when a very moderate temperature is to be kept up; in such a case, pipes of less diameter may be used. Larger pipes will of course, when once heated, continue to give out their heat longer than small ones, after the fire is extinguished, but they require an equal length of time and consumption of fuel to heat them. Besides, the friction is much greater in small pipes than in large ones, arising from the circumstance of the increased surface with which a given quantity of water comes in contact when passing through a small pipe, and also the greater velocity with which the circulation goes on. Pipes should be of a uniform size throughout their whole length, unless circumstances occur subjecting that rule to deviation; this will some- times occur when two or more departments are to be heated from the same boiler, and these are at a distance from each other. In such cases, the pipe, which is merely intended to connect the more distant parts, may be smaller in diameter, as for example, if a boiler were to be placed egni- distant from four pits, a smaller pipe might be laid under ground, or otherwise, to convey the water to the pipe within the pit, which latter is to give off heat; the smaller pipe from the increased velocity of the water passing through it, would loose but little of its heat during its passage. All alterations in the size of pipes, either by enlarging or con- tracting their diameter, effects the velocity of the circulation in a greater or less degree. Venturi, discovered that the velocity of a given quantity of water would be effected by enlargements in the pipes to the following extent. A straight pipe in 109” A pipe with one enlargement required 147” 73 3? three 3? 33 “ 192 a 3 » five * 3 » 240” In regard to the quantity of pipe required to heat hot houses, Mr. Hood has laid down the following scale :—“ For greenhouses, conserva- tories, and such like buildings where the temperature is required to ATKINSON’S BOILER. 4] be kept at about sixty degrees, dividing the cubit measurement of the building by thirty will give the required quantity of pipe, and for forcing houses where it is desired to keep the temperature at seventy to seventy five degrees, we must divide the cubic measurement of the house by twenty, but if the temperature be required as high as seventy five degrees or eighty degrees, then we must divide by eighteen to obtain the number of feet of four inch pipe. Ifthe pipes are to be three inches diameter, then we must add one third to the quantity thus obtained, and if two inch pipes are to be used we must take double the length of four inch pipe.” HOT WATER APPARATUS. Having thus far given a brief detail of the leading points in the theory and practice of heating by means of hot water, we shall now give as briefly as possible the essence of what we deem to be the best method recommended for use, and take them as near as possible in the order in which they stand as to priority. Atkinson’s original plan consisted in simply connecting the boiler a, with the reservoir 3, by means of two horizontal tubes, and sometimes without a reservoir, as in figure 2, the uppermost intended for the heated water to flow through towards the reservoir, and the lower to conduct it, when cooled, back again to the boiler, entering it near the bottom. The boiler and reservoir had covers, which could be taken off or put on at pleasure, the former being of wood, which, being a nonconductor of ; heat, prevented too great an escape of heat at the end, which naturally would be the warmest part of the house; the latter was of cast iron, but was very seldom used. For all ordinary purposes this apparatus was found, 42 HOT WATER APPARATUS. when first ‘erected, in 1822, to answer every useful end, and upon this very principle many are still erected. As this mode is only adapted to situations where the boiler and reservoir is upon a level, the same in- genious architect constructed others with fixed covers, and also with a perpendicular pipe, elevated to the highest level to which the water was intended to be carried, and by these means he could cause the water to circulate to any required height. This he has exemplified in a very satisfactory manner at his mansion of Silvermeere, near Cobham, where the boiler is placed in a cellar, and the principal rooms and passages warmed by its means. It has been recommended, that in erecting this particular variety of apparatus, the lower or returning pipe should be inclined so as to allow a gradual fall of the water in its return to the boiler, This plan at first sight appears very plausible, but the principle of its action is, im fact, entirely erroneous, and appears to arise from considering the subject as a purely simple case of hydraulics, instead of the compound result of hydrodynamics. The experiments made by Hood led him to the con- elusion that there must, under all circumstances, be a positive loss of effect by inclining the pipe from the farther extremity towards the boiler, as we have elsewhere shewn. Messrs. Kewley and Fowler appears to have each invented about the same period what the former calls his siphon principle, and the latter his thermosiphon, which is in principle almost the same thing, and by means of which water can be carried in any direction. The former exhibited his apparatus in the nursery of the late Mr. Colveile, in 1826, and the latter took out a patent in 1829. Nothing can act better than Kewley’s siphon, and we believe that it is at present by far the most popular of all other modes. A glance at the annexed diagram will explain its form and KEWLEY AND FOWLER’S SIPHON. 43 principle. From nearly the top of the boiler, a, (which is without a cover) the upper leg of the siphon, 4, rises and proceeds to the extremity of the space to be heated; through this upper pipe the hot water flows and returns by the lower leg and enters the boiler at the top, but is continued downwards to near the bottom of it. At the extremity of the pipe, as at -¢, a small hole is made in the tube, to which an air pump is applied to empty it of air, and as this process goes on, the water flows into them and occupies the space. Next to Atkinson’s original plan, this is the simplest in operation, but requires greater nicety in the erection, and those intending to adopt it cannot do better than employ the inventor, who, besides being an honest and unassuming man, is a most ingenious and clever engineer. The thermosiphon will be readily understood by a reference to the annexed diagram, and is thus described in the Gardener’s Magazine, vol. X., p. 453, after explaining the principle, which is by employing the power of the fiuid in descending one leg of the siphon to draw up hot fluids in the other; by this means, hot fluids will circulate from one boiler to another, or from one vessel to another, through pipes of various forms and lengths, “ Sup- posing the water of a uniform teinperature in both legs of the siphon, @ &, no circulation would take place ; but supposing it to cool sooner in the long leg a, than in the short leg 4, then the equilibrium would be destroyed, and the water in the long leg a, would descend and draw up hot water through the short leg 4; and this circulation would continue as long as the water at ¢ was maintained at a tem- perature above that of the surrounding atmosphere. We consider this method better adapted to the pur- ———————— pose of raising water to heat baths and dwelling houses than that of hot houses, although, no doubt, it can be applied to the latter purpose also. The next in order, we may place that of Mr. Week’s, which is intended to cause the water to circulate below the level of the boiler if required; but for this purpose it is necessary to raise the water to a height above the level of the boiler equal to the distance which it is intended to sink it below that - point. This may be done in any closed boiler, with a tube proceeding from its cover, or in any boiler of a height above the fire, equal to the depth below 44 HOT WATER APPARATUS. it, to which it is intended to circulate the water, and will be readily understood by a reference to the annexed diagram. ; In this figure a, is a section of the fire place, ‘ which, instead of having a common boiler over it, is surrounded by castiron tubes. The uppermost of these tubes communicates, by means of the upright tube 4, with the open vessel e, and the lowermost is connected in a similar manner by means of the tube d, with one or any number of tubes under the level of the boiler 1 ate. The uppermost of the tubes at e is connected i by the tube f, with the open vessel c. Now, all these tubes being so connected as to admit of water circu- lating freely through them, when a fire is made im a, the heated water ascends by its refraction into the open vessel c, and its place in the tubes round the fire is supplied by the colder water from e through d, the heated water descending to supply its place from the open vessel e, by the tube f The limits of the depth to which the water will circulate below, is that of the height of the open vessel above. To produce this cir- culation, it is not necessary that the water should boil, for as every heated particle will ascend to the open vessel c, its place must be supplied by a cold particle from d. When the fire is urged so as to raise the water in the open vessel nearly to the boiling point, the circulation goes on with the greatest rapidity. The substitution of tubes round the fire for a boiler over it, is by no means necessary for the success of this plan, though by tubes the rapidity of the circulation is greatly increased. Any close -boiler with the tube 6 attached to its cover, and communicating with an open vessel fixed at any height, such as ¢, having another tube similar to f fixed to it, will circulate the heated water from such vessel to a point below the bottom of the boiler, nearly equal to the balance of atmospheric pressure, or say, thirty feet below it. The next in order of time and celebrity which we think worth noticing here, is that of Perkin’s, and consists in circulating water in hermetrically sealed tubes, and these of a very small size. This plan consists of a coil of wrought iron tubes about one inch in diameter, which serves the pur- pose of a boiler, the fire bemg made in the centre of the coil, not n immediate contact with them, but separated by brick work, over which the heat passes and circulates in the flue, which also contains the pipes. PERKIN’S BOILER. 45 From the end of the top course of pipes the water ascends into tubes arranged for its conduction through the house, and the same water, when it: has given out its heat in the course of its journey, re-enters the coil again by the lowest tier of pipes, and is in its turn heated to arise again, and so on in regular order. In order to guard against the pipes expioding, which they would be apt to do if filled quite full of water, on account of the expansion to which it is liable when heated, and the tubes being securely closed at the ends, the precaution is taken to fill them only to a certain extent, and also by the use of an expansion tube, which allows of the expansion of the water in the way of high pressure steam. It would appear that this is the most powerful of all modes of heating by means of hot water, and that it may be applied to heat structures of a capacity which no other medium, steam only excepted, could accomplish. The smallness of the pipes admits of their being introduced into situations where the larger pipes of other engineers could not conveniently be admitted, and as the velocity with which the water travels is so great, it may be carried to almost the same distance as steam. Apprehensions are entertained that the pipes used in this mode are liable to burst from a variety of causes, but Mr. Perkins asserts that all his tubes are now proved prior to being used, and capable of bearing three thousand pounds to the square inch, which appears sufficient allowance for extraordinary pressure, when we reflect that sixty pounds or seventy pounds is only necessary to be the resisting power when three hundred degrees of heat is required. A variety of other methods of heating by hot water nage been published, but as there are none of them so effectual for general purposes as those above alluded to, we will now proceed to consider the merits of one or two modes adapted for particular circumstances. Busby’s method of circulating water by the aid of machinery is described in Repertory of Patent Inventions, Vol. IV.,p. 137, its principal difference from all others being in its capability of circulating water by means of an apparatus which may be compared to the wheel of a winnowing machine, this is fixed within the boiler to a perpendicular axis, which must be placed exactly over the end of a pipe which reaches from the circumference to the centre of the boiler. There is also a second pipe which reaches no farther than the circumference. These pipes are united at the end farthest from the fire, and may be made to descend or be carried to any distance and | in any form. The boiler and pipes being filled with water, the circulation commences in consequence of a rotatory motion being communicated to it by the fan or circulator, which is made to revolve by the action of the = 46 HOT WATER APPARATUS. smoke and hot air in the chimney, similar to a common smoke jack; the centrifugal force of this motion will so act against the fluid in the pipe terminating in the circumference, as to cause the water to rush down it while it draws it up the other. By this means either hot or cold water can be made to circulate, the circulation depending on the centrifugal force, and the mouth of one pipe, being in the centre of the boiler while the other is in the ciremference, a greenhouse or stove, therefore, may be heated from a boiler placed over a common fire in a garret, and the water carried downwards to the pipes or reservoir in the house. The singularity of this invention is the power it possesses of forcing hot water downwards, a result not anticipated, and also in the rapidity of the circulation which admits of tubes being used of much smaller size than usual, a matter of great consequence in some cases. Greenhouses, stoves, &c., are sometimes heated by the waste heat of domestic fires, and as we have already shown that hot water can be made to circulate either upwards, downwards, or horizontally by adopting some of the methods already detailed, it will be evident that any greenhouse, stove, plant verandahs, or other structure may be heated either from the kitchen, parlour, or drawing room fire as may be most favourable, without the least inconvenience, and at scarcely any additional expense. The annexed figure shows a fire place upon this principle, invented by the venerable curator of the Chelsea botanical garden, it consists of a grate sur- rounded by a boiler which forms the back and sides of it. The fire is in- tended for the usual domestic purposes, and the water heated by it is carried through the wall into the greenhouse behind, by means of a pipe which may be placed in the most convenient manner possible, according to the form, size, and circumstances of the house. The water when cooled returns again to the boiler by the lower pipe, which enters at the opposite MANAGEMENT OF FURNACES. 47 side. The boiler, or rather the grate, may be of any form desired, from that of the annexed figure to the most ornamental, only taking care that the parts round the fire be hollow so as to hold a sufficiency of water. The water for the supply of the boiler may be applied from without by the aid of a small pipe and funnel. This plan would be admirably calculated for heating the verandahs and balconies in front of town residences, in which, during summer, we see such a profusion of flowering plants, but which, in winter, are entirely empty or occupied with a few of the hardiest evergreens. If such balconies were furnished with glass sashes, which could be done at little expense, and these sashes fitted in about the end of October, any greenhouse plant might be kept in a good’ state of pre- servation during winter, and a sufiiciency of heat admitted to them from the drawing room fire by the means just recommended. Of all these methods of heating by means of hot water, our opinion is briefiy thus :—that for ordinary purposes in greenhouses and stoves, when the level circulation can be adopted, Atkinson’s original method is the best, and although, perhaps, not the cheapest in the first erection, is unquestionably so in the end. When the circulation is to be carried over doors, or under foot paths, or indeed out of a regular level, Kewley’s siphon system is the most to be preferred. And when the greatest possible degree of heat is required and only a limited space for the apparatus, that of Perkin’s is certainly the best. For heating small greenhouses, balconies, &c., from the fire used for other domestic purposes, that of curator Anderson’s is, in our opinion, the most simple and efficient one. By any of these four methods a house, however situated, can be com- pletely and economically heated. We have elsewhere stated our opinion, that for the ordinary purposes of greenhouses, it is scarcely worth while erecting hot water apparatus at all, where smoke flues can be built cheaper and without interfering with the internal arrangements of the house. But for stoves and other forcing houses, where a higher degree of tem- perature is required for three parts of the year, there can be no doubt of the superiority of hot water over every other mode, both as regards economy and convenience. DIRECTIONS FOR THE MANAGEMENT OF HOT HOUSE FURNACES. Tue following excellent directions for the management of hot house fire places, that are constructed with double doors and ash pit registers, was drawn up some years ago by that eminent architect, W. Atkinson, Esq. 48 FURNACES. and printed for private distribution by that gentleman, and afterwards published in the Hort. Trans. The directions are so valuable, that we will give the contents of that paper at length. ‘When the fire is first lighted, the ash pit door may be left open until the fuel be properly kindled; the door should then be shut close, leaving the brass register so far open as to allow sufficient air to blow the fire, but not more than is absolutely necessary to make it burn well, not violently, nor with a strong draught, for if more air be admitted than is required for a moderate brisk fire, it occasions a great waste of fuel, without increasing the heat. “The fire place door must at all times be kept shut, and the sloping part of the iron frame of the door must be kept clear of coals, so as not to prevent the door from latching. No air must be let in at the door at any time, except when it cannot be avoided in feeding the fire. Any cold air that may get in at the fire place door is apt to rush over the fire into the flue without being heated, and that air tends to cool the flue, instead of heating it. Therefore, all the air that is necessary for blowing the fire must be admitted at the ash pit register, in order that it may get heated in passing through the fire to the flue. ‘Tt is impossible to determine the exact opening necessary “ be left in the ash pit register to admit sufficient air, as that greatly depends upon the goodness and length of the flue, and the height of the chimney. Whena flue is once properly heated, the draught becomes stronger, and then a less opening in the register is sufficient to supply the fire with air. In this state about half an inch opening in the register is generally sufficient, and it should be shut quite close if it be found that the fire will burn with it in that position, as a considerable quantity of air will get in through the joints of the ash pit door. “The best fuel for hot house fire places is about equal quantities of coal and small cinders, or braise. This is cheaper than using coals only, and keeps up a steadier fire with less smoke. ‘¢ At all times when fresh fuel is added to the fire, the hot fuel uncon- sumed must be pushed with an iron rake towards the further end of the bars, and fresh fuel applied immediately in the front of it, so as to fill up the space between the.bars and the inner part of the frame of the double door. “This fuel being dead between the bars and the door, protects the door from the heat of the fire, and prevents the iron from warping. “‘ In supplying the fire with fresh fuel, great care must be taken not to throw it over to the further end of the fire, or into the throat of the fiue, MANAGEMENT OF FURNACES. 4g for this is often the cause of flues bursting. When coals are thrown beyond the fire after it has burnt low and the flue is hot, the heat of the brick work distils gas out of the coals ; this gas gets into the flue, and when the fuel over the fire becomes inflamed, if the flame be drawn into the flue, it ignites the gas that has been there generated, and causes an explosion ; this ought to be particularly attended to, as an explosion of gas in the flue may destroy a valuable collection of plants in a moment. “There is also another circumstance, which renders it desirable to attend to the manner of supplying the fire with fuel. If the fresh fuel be thrown over the surface of a hot fire, it produces an immense volume of smoke and blacks. But on the contrary, when the fuel is added carefully at the front of the fire in the manner before described ; then much of the smoke given out by it is consumed in passing over the hot part of the fire. “Besides the management of the ash pit register, the damper of the flue ought to be particularly attended to, by not opening it further than is absolutely necessary for the combustion of the fuel. The more the damper can be closed, provided the fire will burn moderately well, the more heat will be retained in the flue, without escaping up the chimney, and the less fuel will be consumed ; and when the fire is made up for the last time in an evening, the damper should be put in as far as it can be, so as only just to keep the fire alive, and in general the fire may be allowed to burn bright against the last attendance in an evening; and then, instead of putting on fresh fuel, close the ash pit and damper completely. This will prevent any draught of cold air through the flues carrying the heat out at the chimney; the body of heat that is in the mass of brick work of the flues, having then no other means of escape but into the house, will frequently be found sufficient for the night. “The ash pit register should be properly attended to, and never suffered to get injured with rust; not even in the summer time, when not in use. The door should then be taken off the hooks and properly cleaned, and rubbed with oil to prevent rust. “The shovel used for the fire places should have a short handle, which is as convenient for use as a long one, and with a short handled shovel the fuel cannot be so easily thrown over the fire. The person who attends the fires should be directed to use his hands in opening and shutting the doors by their proper handles, and not suffered to do so with . a spade or shovel, for however strong they may be made, they must soon be destroyed by improper usage. “It is of the greatest importance to preserve the doors and ash pits E 50 GLAZING. _ perfect; for if they be injured, it is difficult to repair them without taking them out of the brick work, which is attended with considerable expense, and cannot be done when the fires are in constant use.” GLAZING. GLAZING is a very important matter in hot house building. The glass should be cut so as to fit the rabbet exactly, but not too tight; it should be cut upon the curvilinear principle, and well bedded, not only in the rabbet, but also in the overlaps, which latter should not be broader than one eighth of an inch, and laid in coloured putty, that of a black colour has the best effect. It is the utmost extravagance to talk of plate glass only being used for greenhouses. Some theorists also assert, that puttying the laps darkens the house and excludes the sun’s rays. No doubt this is to some extent true; but were they left open when first finished, many weeks would not elapse before that they would become filled with dust and filth, which would exclude the same proportion of light, and instead of excluding the water, would rather tend to attract it into the house. The great advantage of puttying the laps is to prevent the breakage of glass, by leaving room for expansion in time of frost, and also by the glass having three solid bases to rest upon instead of two. If economy be an object of consideration, the glass used may be cut under the size subject to duty, which will make a considerable difference in the expense, and will in all ordinary cases answer every useful purpose. In using the smaller sized glass, the laps may be left unputtyed, but their breadth should not exceed the eighth of an inch, which will carry off the water better than a lap of an inch and a half in breadth. Green glass was formerly used in this country for hot house roofs, and such is generally used to this day on the Continent, but it is of all sorts the worst; for if, as Bouguer has shewn, one fortieth part of the ight which falls perpendicularly on the purest crystal is reflected off, or does not pass through it, it may safely be asserted that green glass reflects off more than three fourths. Economy, as to the quality of glass, therefore, is defeating the intention of building hot houses, which is to imitate a a natural climate in all the qualities of light, heat, air, water, and earth, as perfectly as possible. The best crown glass only should be used, and, as we have already stated, it should be cut upon the curvilinear prin- ciple, and bedded and fastened in with soft putty, formed of well wrought paste of flower, mixed with whitening and raw linseed oil, which is most durable, but requires a much longer time to dry. The hard sorts GLAZING. ol of putty are objectionable, inasmuch as they are apt to crack unless they be painted soon after they are used; they are also difficult to remove when it becomes necessary to repair broken glass. The most approved modes of glazing are curvilinear, lap glazing, re- versed curvilinear, rhomboidal, perforated shield, entire shield, fragment, leaden lap, and common sash glazing. The first and last are certainly the best for our purposes. An ingenious, and, we think, a very useful mode of giazing was published some years ago in the Transactions of the Horticultural Society, and is the invention of Mr. John Read, of the Regent’s Circus, Piccadilly, well known to horticulturalists for his excellent patent syringes. “ Mr. Bead observes, that in the usual way, the surface of the putty being entirely exposed, soon looses its tenacity, and partially separates from the bar, thereby admitting wet into the house and hastening the decay of the wood. To obviate these defects, Mr. Read’s sash bar has a groove on each side to receive the glass and putty and the top is planed off, leaving it slanting both ways, as is shown in the annexed sketch, which is a section of the bar and glass. There is not more difficulty in re- pairing the glass in lights, or roofs with bars of \ this form, than in those made in the usual way, Ay as a narrow chisel, like a mortice chisel, cuts out MM the old putty with great ease.” ae FORM OF GREENHOUSES. GREENHOUSES may be of various forms and shapes, but the further that the parts deviate from straight lines, the more will the expense be increased, on account of the waste of material and extra labour in work- manship. Circular, domed, and curvilinear houses are all liable to the above objection, and, in addition, are not easily ventilated... The ordinary form of straight roofs, or that of a span roof, is, in our opinion, the most economical and fittest for all purposes. It may not be unimportant if we state briefly some opinions cf much greater weight than our own on this subject, both for and against such forms of roofs. : The intelligent Thomas Andrew Knight, Esq., observes, that the plan recommended by the late Sir George M‘Kenzie, Bart., for forcing houses, although exceedingly interesting, ‘contains some defects which E 2 52 FORM OF GREENHOUSES. cannot be obviated without deviating from the spherical to the spheroidal form, which Sir George states to be objectionable, on account of the great nicety required in the workmanship. On making a few trials to ascertain the variety of forms which might be given for hot houses, by taking the different segments of a sphere, I soon became perfectly satisfied that forcing houses, of excellent form, for almost every purpose and of any convenient extent, might be constructed without deviating from the spherical form, and I am now,” says he, “ perfectly confident that such house will be erected and kept in repair at less expense, will possess the important advantage of admitting more light, and will be found much more durable than such as are constructed according to any of the forms that have been hitherto recommended. By employing a small segment of a large sphere, as low and as wide a forcing house as can be wanted for any purpose, may be readily obtained. Instead of the half, a hemisphere of thirty feet diameter, let the half of one of fifty be chosen, and from the base of this cut off thirty five degrees, and from the summit fifteen degrees, and the following proportions for a forcing house will be given. Its height, (including eighteen inches of upright, opaque front, opening as shutters), will be twelve feet; its width in the centre, fourteen feet, and its length very nearly forty feet; and there are few purposes for which a house, constructed according to some of the inter- mediate forms, between that above mentioned and the accuminated semi- dome, will not be found extremely well adapted.” Curvilinear-roofed hot houses of all shapes, we ought to observe, require very great care in regulating the effects of solar heat, particularly those that are constructed of metallic matter. From the experiments made in the gardens of the London Horticultural Society, and published in the ‘“‘ Transactions ” of that Society, vol. VI. p. 379, we learn that “in the first year of its trial, the roof was permitted to be wholly exposed to the action of the sun, but it was found impracticable to regulate its tem- perature under such circumstances, although the house was ventilated, not only by means of apparatus in the front and back walls, but the two ends of the house were so contrived that they will open almost entirely when necessary, so that a current of air may be introduced both at the ends and sides. The temperature was indeed kept regular during the night by means of fire heat without difficulty, but in the day time it was found impossible to do so. When there were alternate changes from a clouded to a bright sky, the action of the sun’s rays was so sudden, that the thermometer of the house was raised too high before the speediest supply of air could be given; and when there was a whole day of continued FORM OF GREENHOUSES. 53 sunshine, with a calm atmosphere, as often happened in the early part of the season, the house could not, with all the ventilators in operation, be kept within ten degrees of the temperature required. After this experiment, it was determined to counteract the irregularity of temperature by pro- viding the roof with an awning of canvass, which might be drawn over the glass or removed, as should be advisable. This produced very bene- ficial results. The experiment, therefore, seems to prove, that although with attention it may be practicable to force some description of fruits, perhaps with almost as much success as in a wooden house, yet that others are not to be made to bear fruit, and that upon the whole, a house constructed with wood is much better adapted to the purpose of forcing, than one with a curvilinear iron roof.” Not only are curvilinear metallic hot houses more difficult to manage in regard to temperature, than wooden and straight roofed houses of the same size, but they are also, from the same causes, more difficult to main- tain in a proper state of humidity. This has also been satisfactorily proved in the garden of the Horticultural Society, from experiments made by Daniell’s hygrometer, the result of which is, “‘ that in curvilinear houses during the summer, the degree of atmospheric moisture, which appears to be most suitable to tropical vegetation, may be settled at about eight hundred and sixty, the temperature being from eighty to eighty seven degrees of Fahrenheit, and the transmission of light such as has been already stated to take place through an iron roof. And it has been satisfactorily ascertained, that the nearer the temperature and humidity of a stove approximates to these degrees, the more favourable is the artificial climate found for bringing the powers of vegetation into vigorous action. Té can also be stated, that unless such a degree of humidity is care- fully maintained during the summer months in a hot house constructed ef iron, such a house will be found more rapidly prejudicial to the health of plants than one constructed of wood, because its atmosphere, if left to itself, would become more dry, and the bi would exhibit all the symptoms of aridity.” Our own experience in metallic hot houses has long ago satisfied us that they are, in the above respects, as well as in others, inferior to houses constructed of wood; and we are only surprised after the opinions of competent judges have been so frequently laid before the public, that houses of curvilinear forms, and of metallic materials should not have been, long before now, entirely expelled from our gardens. Much has been said of late years, and we believe to very little purpose, upon the angle which the roof of a hot house should present to the horizon, o4 FORM OF GREENHOUSES. and indeed we find that this subject had attracted the attention of the celebrated Boerhaave. Philip Miller applied it to plant stoves, and Wuliamson, Knight, the late Sir George M‘Kenzie, and others, have also directed their attention to the subject. The “ Horticultural Transactions,” and the ‘“‘ Encyclopedia of Gardening,” contain a variety of opinions upon this subject; but so far as we know, few hot houses have been erected with much attention to the nicety of these theories. Most hot houses are built to about an angle of forty five degrees or thereby, and we hear of few complaints against such structures. Indeed, this angle appears to be the least that will effectually drain off the water, and appears to us to be exceedingly well calculated for general purposes. The following has been laid down as data to determine the angles of the roofs of hot houses by Wilkinson, in the Horticultural Transactions, vol. II. p. 237: “The angle contained between the back wall of the forcing house and the inclined plane of the glass roof, always equals the sun’s altitude when his rays fall perpendicularly on that plane, provided that the inclination of the plane to the horizon be at an angle not less than twenty eight degrees, two minutes, nor greater than seventy five degrees. Within the above limits, the sun’s rays are perpendicular twice in the year, once in going to, and once in returning from, the tropics.”” Hence, then, having determined in what season we wish to have the most powerful effects from the sun, we may construct our houses according to the following rule: Make the angle contained between the back wall of the house and its roof, equal to the com- pliment of latitude of the place, less or more the sun’s declination for that day on which we wish his rays to fall perpendicularly. From the vernal to the autumnal equinox, the declination is to be added, and the contrary. Thus, to apply those principles to the slope of roof recommended by Knight, for ripening grapes in July, we have, say at London, Latitude of London . : . oa Sun’s declination on the 21st of July . 17° 31’ 33° 58’ or 34° nearly. As we want the genial warmth of the sun most in spring, therefore, for general purposes, that construction would perhaps be best which ANGLE OF GREENHOUSES. 290 gives us the greatest quantity of perpendicular rays then. If the inclina- tion were forty five degrees, the sun’s rays would be perpendicular about April the 6th, and September the 4th; and as the rays would vary very little from the perpendicular for several days before and after the 6th of April, and the 4th of September, the loss of rays arising from reflection would, as appears from the annexed table, be nearly a minimum. Even at the winter solstice, the loss by the obliquity of the angle of incidence would be only two in one thousand more than when the rays fall per- pendicularly, as appears by Bouguer’s Table of Rays, reflected from glass, of one thousand incidental rays. When the angle of incidence is 87° 30’ 584 are reflected 60° 112 are reflected ao 6543 50° a7 82° 30° 474 40° 34 se 0 (412 30° 24 tA) Bob 20° 2a Fa «.-.299 10° 25 ac. oo 232 ts 25 i ee be sta : Ency. of Gard. PAINTING. Every plant structure should be painted at least three times before it is finished, so as to prevent the timber from imbibing moisture, which if once in, and the paint laid over it, it cannot escape, and as a conse- quence, decay, under the general denomination of dry rot, commences, and going on unobserved, soon reduces the fabric to a state of ruin. Upon the same principle, the best quality of timber, and that well seasoned, should only be used. More mischief arises from a want of attention being paid te these two points than from all other evils put together. In regard to colour, much may be left to fancy, at least for the last coat. White is the most common, but is soon stained, and looks dirty; green is very popular, but is the most expensive in the first instance, and requires to be oftenest renewed, as it is less durable, and sooner fades and looks bad. A soft stone colour is at once: the cheapest, the most durable, and harmonizes best with garden objects. Hot houses should be painted at least once in three years; but 56 FORM OF GREENHOUSES. much caution is required to prevent the cure from beimg worse thar the disease, for if the rafters and sashes be damp before the painting is commenced, the damp within them will be prevented from es caping, and decay will be the consequence. 78 © “J THE HEATHERY. AGREEABLE to the arrangement we have already purposed for the - division of greenhouse plants into groups, or separate departments, we will now proceed to treat of each department separately. The Heathery, besides the extensive and varied family of ERIcA, may with propriety contain the following genera of the following natural orders. ERICEA. BLERIA OF SYMPIEZA EPACRIDES. ANDERSONIA EPACRIS SPRENGELIA ASTROLOMA LISSANTHE STYPHELIA DRACOPHYLLUM LYSINEMA STENANTHERBA COMPOSITA. All the greenhouse species separated from the original genera, GNAPHALIUM AND HELICHRYSUM ViZ., APPELEXIS ATHRIXIA PHENOCOMA ASTELMA LEUCOSTEMMA SPIRALEPIS : METALASIA : RUTACEZ ADENANDBA BORONIA DIOSMA AGATHOSMA CORRZA ERIOSTEMON BARYOSMA CROWEA RUTA LEGUMINOS&. AOTUS EUTAXIA OXYLOBIUM BOSSLZA GOMPHOLOBIUM PULTEN ZA CYCLOPIA GASTROLOBIUM PODOLOBIUM CHORIZEMA HOVEA PLATYLOBIUM DILLWYNIA LIPARIA SCOTTIA DAVIESIA LODDIGESIA TEMPLETONIA Such a house would be perfection in itself, comprising from seven to eight hundred species and varieties of Flora’s choicest gems, plants of 58 THE HEATHERY. evergreen and elegant habits, and from their great variety presenting t the eye a succession of bloom throughout the whole year. Of the interesting family of erica, one of our most popular botanical authors, says, “of what other genus can it be said that every species, without exception, is beautiful throughout the year, and at every period of its growth—in flower or out of flower—and of every size and age? Suppose an individual had the penance imposed on him of being forbidden to cultivate more than one genus of ornamental plants—is there a genus he could make choice of at all to be compared to erica? Perpetually green, perpetually in flower—of all colours, of all sizes, and of many shapes.” The cultivation of this splendid tribe was the prevailing fashion about thirty years ago, and they would, in all probability, still have continued more generally cultivated than they are at present, had it not been for the supposed difficulty in the management of them. Mr. Page, of Southamp- ton, very justly observes, that “ a prejudice having spread that the culture of these plants is difficult, one of the greatest ornaments of the green- house, has hence, of late, been neglected, although the method of culture is as easy and nearly as certain as that of the geranium, but requiring a little more delicacy in the execution.” Nothing can be more erroneous than to assert that they are more difficult to manage than other exotics, and we hope, if the following brief directions be followed, that the truth of this assertion will be fully established. In order that our observations may be clearly understood, we will divide them into the following heads :— Structures calculated for their growth. | General treatment when out of doors. Propagation & treatment when young. | Soil. General treatment when in the house. Shifting. The general routine of culture here recommended for the genus erica, is, for the most part, applicable to the genera enumerated above; but as there are some particulars in which they differ, such will be noticed in its proper place. Having adopted the term Heathery, however, and that genus constituting fully more than all the others together, added to the circumstance that they of themselves deserve an entire house, we will give them the precedence in the following remarks, and then take up the management of the remaining genera as a supplement to this article. STRUCTURES FOR THE GROWTH OF ERICA. Tue Cape Ericas are chiefly found indigenous, at considerable altitudes above the sea, and hence, even in those latitudes, the thermometer often DESCRIFTION OF HOUSE. 59 falls below the freezing point, and our experience in their culture enables us to say that they are capable of enduring a considerable degree of cold with impunity. Like all mountain plants, they will not long flourish in a damp, or impure atmosphere, nor in one, however dry, if excluded from a free circulation of air, and full exposure to solar light. It follows, therefore, that in the selection of a proper habitation for them, one fully exposed to the sun, and in a perfectly dry situation, and constructed so that the plants may stand near the glass, capable at the same time of ventilation to the fullest extent, with the front and roof sashes rendered moveable when required, will be the most proper habitation for them. The annexed section will give some idea of what may be considered an economical and useful heath house, and may be of any length required, from twenty to one hundred feet; the height over the passage should not | exceed seven feet, which will be ample space to walk under; the width twelve feet, allowing three and a half feet for the passage, four and a half for the left hand stand for the largest specimens to be placed on, and four feet for the front platform, on which the smaller plants are to be placed. These platforms might be formed of; Welsh slate, perforated to admit of the superflous water passing off, and also to allow a circu- lation of air to pass through amongst the plants. The front sashes should be eighteen inches high, and the front platform about level with the wall plate. The cavities under the plant tables should be left open, so that no tendency to generate damp may be encouraged; and under the front platform the fiue (a) should be placed, its principal use being to dry ve ap superabundant humidity, and to repel the frost when it is very severe; Ss 60 THE HEATHERY. for if the thermometer in the heathery do not fall below thirty degrees, the plants will not sustain any injury from want of artificial heat. Upon this principle, although upon a much more splendid scale, is the Heathery at Woburn Abbey, one of the seats of his grace the Duke of Bedford, in which one of the best collections of ericas in England, has been cultivated for many years, with the most complete success. His Grace’s splendid work upon this tribe, ‘‘ The Hortus Ericeus Woburnensis,” printed for private distribution, has materially assisted in maintaining a taste for this family, and is also a proof of the high estimation they are held in by that amiable and patriotic nobleman. The annexed section of aspan-roofed house is also upon an economical scale, and well calculated for the cultivation of erica and their near associates. As in the last example, the whole of the side and roof sashes should be moveable, the height over the passage seven feet, and the internal width eighteen, allowing three and a half feet for each passage, three feet for the breadth of each of the front platforms, and five feet for the centre one, on which the largest plants are intended to stand. The top part of the roof is covered with boarding of one foot from each side of the ridge. This boarding is intended to support an awning of thin canvass, mounted on rollers for the purpose of shading the roof during the heat of summer, and also for the support of a covering of thick canvass, also mounted on rollers, to exclude the cold during intense frost, and which latter covering will be sufficient protection for them and enable the cultivator to dispense with fire heat, which, under any circumstances, is very inimical to the plants of this order. From November till March, the latter covering will be occasionally required, and the former, for shading, occasionally, from June till Sep- tember, after which periods both may be removed. The foliage of PROPAGATION AND TREATMENT. 61 the heath tribe would sustain, without injury, the greatest degree of sun heat we ever have in these latitudes; but it is the roots that we wish to protect by partial shading, for when the sun acts fully on the pots, they become heated to a great degree, and as the roots of all healthy heaths and similar plants are in close contact with the pots, they are rapidly dried up, or heated beyond the degree that they are capable of bearing; for as in their natural habitations they grow amongst thick herbage, and are partially shaded about their roots, they consequently are kept much cooler than if they were growing without any covering whatever. There are, however, some exceptions to this rule; but by far the greater number are so circumstanced. Along the centre of this span house, a row of cast iron columns should be placed, to support the ridge, and which may be either plain or orna- mented with appropriate mouldings. A flue a a, may be run along under the side platforms, for the purpose of drying up superfluous humidity or damp, it will rarely be required for any other purpose if the covering recommended be adopted. However, as the expense in the first erection is not great, it will be well to have one, even for precaution. No doubt heaths are, and have been successfully cultivated in houses of the most ordinary description, but the success attending their growth has depended principally upon free ventilation, moderation in watering, an almest total absence of fire heat, a full exposure to the sun, and closeness to the glass. So far as cultivation is concerned, heaths may be very well grown in pits, which is the most economical of all plant structures, but in pits, the owner loses much of their beauty, from the circumstance of their being placed in a very unfavourable position to be seen when in flower; and as they will not bear with impunity for any length of time, the close confinement of the drawing room, much of the interest arising from them is lost, if not placed in a house adapted for them. PROPAGATION AND TREATMENT WHEN YOUNG. Plants of the natural order Hrice@, like most similar shrubs, are readily increased by seeds and cuttings, and rarely by any other means. Seeds are often imported from the Cape of Good Hope, and are also frequently ripened in this country; from both of these, hybrid varieties are very likely to be obtained, for we believe that many heaths cultivated in this © country, and considered as species, are no other than hybrids originated from seeds procured by one or other of those means. When we consider the operations that are constantly going on in nature, in regard to this 62 THE HEATHERY. subject, both in a wild and in a cultivated state, we are only astonished that more numerous varieties have not been recognised. The best time for sowing seeds of this order is early in spring, say February and March ; and for this important reason, plants originated from seeds sown in spring, will attain sucha size and strength before autumn, as to enable them to outlive the winter following, which is a trying time for young plants. In preparing pots for this purpose, they should not be too large; the size known by the term thirty-two’s is the best. We need hardly remind the most inexperienced in cultivation, that they should be well drained, by being filled at least two thirds with broken pots, small stones, or cinders. The soil used should be of the sort called very sandy peat. The seeds should be sown on the surface, (which must be made smooth and level), and scarcely covered at all. When sown, watering should be regularly attended to, and applied with the finest rose pot. They should be placed in a cool, shaded frame, under glass, or plunged in a rather damp border, where the sun seldom shines, and covered with a hand glass. In such a situation, water should be seldom applied, because the seeds being so minute, they are liable to be washed off in the process, and therefore, the less frequently they are watered the better. As the young plants appear, air shouid be progressively admitted to them, and every precaution now taken to guard against damp, an excess of which, as well as an excess of drouth, would be equally fatal to them in this state. When the plants have attained the height of one inch or so, they may be transplanted into small thumb pots, placing three, four, or five in each, and as near to the edge of the pot as possible. From some cause, not easily explained, we find that young plants and cuttings root faster when placed in close contact with the sides of the pots in which they are planted, than when they are placed more towards the centre. After this first potting, they should be kept for eight or ten days in a close, cool frame, or pit, shading them from the sun in the middle of the day, and gradually exposing them to the air, until they are found to be so established as to stand the full heat of the sun. The greatest atten- tion must be paid to a regular system of watering, for if they be allowed to become too dry, they will die off in a few hours’ time, and if kept too wet, they will damp off in an equally short period. ; ; a SEBO a at eer e ea —_— Iie 5 Roi PS 63 PROPAGATION BY CUTTINGS. Almost all the plants of this natural order will strike root by cuttings ; some sorts, however, requiring a longer period to do so than others. The most eligible wood for this purpose is the young wood of the present year’s growth, when it becomes partially hardened, so as not to be liable to damp off. It would be impossible to convey an idea to the unin- itiated, of the proper state that the wood should be in for this pur- pose, but the cultivator who knows any thing of the matter, will readily understand us when we say, the wood should be fully matured, but before it had attained its dark colour, and to be, when slightly pressed between the finger and thumb, somewhat firm, but neither yielding to the touch nor yet quite hard. In regard to the length of the cuttings, much depends on the habit of the different species. Some of the robust growing sorts may be from an inch to an inch and a half in {length, while others of the more shy growing kinds can only be obtained about half that length. The cuttings selected, should be chosen from the healthiest plants, and taken off close to where they issue from the old wood. In preparing the cut- tings, the leaves should be cut clean from the shoot, either with a sharp knife or fine pair of scissors, the end should be cut transversely across in a neat manner, so as not to leave the wound ragged or bruised. The leaves should, upon no account, be shortened, neither should any more of them be taken off than just so far as the cutting is to be inserted into the sand. With respect to the proper season for putting in cuttings of this order of plants, and indeed of most other slow growing kinds, the spring is the best, for the same reason given above for sowing seeds. It sometimes happens, however, that cuttings cannot be obtained in a proper state at that season: when such is the case, recourse must be had to inducing the old plants to make wood fit for the purpose. This is to be effected by placing them into a little heat early in spring, they will then make plenty of young wood, which is the best for cuttings. In extensive genera, like that of erica, it would be impossible to state any particular period of the year for commencing the operation of propagation by cut- tings, because some one or other of them are in a fit state for the purpose on almost every day in the year; therefore, the time for putting in cuttings should be regulated rather by the state of the plant than by the time of the year. . The method of preparing the pots is not essentially different from that recommended above for seeds, draining being the chief object to be kept in view. A ie oF . - i as 64 4 THE HEATHERY. The following very judicious mode of proceeding is recommended by Mr. M‘Nab, of the Edinburgh Botanical Garden, than whom. none has succeeded better in the cultivation of this tribe. “In extensive nursery collections, where great quantities of plants are wanted, one pot may be filled with cuttings of the same species, when such can be got in sufficient quantities ; but in private collections this is not necessary, for a few plants of a sort, in general, are all that is required. When this is the case, the kinds selected to be put in the same pot, should be as nearly of the same habit as can be judged of at the time. For example, I shall suppose four pots are intended to be filled with cuttings. Such as the following should be selected for each pot :— FIRST POT. SECOND POT. THIRD POT. FOURTH POT. Melastoma Pinea Ventricosa Aitoniana Petiveriana Pinifolia Pregnans Jasminifiora Petiveria Vistita Linnzana Ampullacea Sabana Grandiflora Linzoides Irbyana Penicillata Purpurea Colorans Inflata. ‘Unless this is attended to, one sort will be found to strike root in a much shorter time than others in the same pot, which makes it more inconvenient when potting them out. This, however, must always happen to a certain extent, for a little difference in the age or firmness of the cutting, even when the work is performed by the most experienced hand, will often make a difference in the time required to strike root. When the pot is thus filled with the cuttings, it should be well watered with a fine rose water pot, and placed in a close, shady part of the stove, ad- mitting as little air as possible near to where the cutting pots are placed, and taking care to water them freely every day. Indeed, when put in this way, there is no risk of over watering them; for, having them well drained, the water is allowed to pass freely through, and so far from injuring the cuttings, they are benefitted by it.” We must observe, that however excellent the above mode of striking neaths may be, it cannot, under all circumstances, be applied in prac- tice, because there are many cultivators who have not the convenience of a stove to place them in. A substitute for the stove may be found 2n a well regulated cucumber or melon bed, in which many strike heaths and other hard wooded plants very successfully. The reason for applying heat to the cuttings is to excite them to the greatest possible degree, during which they will, if they are in a fit state, strike root very scon, or.damp off at once. The more usual method of striking cuttings of the generality of heaths i GENERAL TREATMENT. 65 is to plunge the pots into coal ashes, rotten tan, or similar matter, in a rather damp, shaded border, covering each pot with a bell glass, and the whole with a close frame and lights. By this method the cuttings are longer in rooting, but as it is within the reach of every one possessed of a garden, however small, and as it is attended with less risk from inatten- tion, &c., we recommend it to their attention. It is necessary In prepar- ing the pots for the cuttings to select them of about equal sizes, say that of thirty-twos, and to fill them to within an inch and a half of the top with broken pots, cinders, coarse gravel, or small stones, over which a thin layer of moss, (hypnum,) should be placed to prevent the finer particles of mould from being washed down amongst the drainage. The pot should then be filled to the brim with fine, pure white sand, as free as possible of earthy or irony matter, but as this is seldom to be procured sufficiently free of those matters ; it may be well to wash it by putting small quantities at a time into a bag, and dragging it frequently through a cistern, or stream of water. When put into the pot it should be well watered and pressed firmly down, the surface made smooth and level, and the cuttings put in as soon after as possible. In the propagation of heaths it has been almost universally maintained that bell glasses should be used under all circumstances, that is, whether they be placed in heat, in a shady border, cool frame, or pit. Experi- ence has taught us that cuttings placed in heat succeed, for the most part, better without glasses than with them: some of the most difficult rooting sorts, such as the E. glauca, E. elegans, may be covered with advan- tage; but these are few in number, and do not, if well managed, require to be so often renewed as most others. When glasses are used, the greatest care must be taken that they be kept regularly wiped at least once a day to prevent damp from destroying the cuttings. Cuttings placed in a cool, shaded border, frame, or pit, should certainly be covered with bell or hand glasses, and these should remain on until they are rooted, and taken off only for the purpose of being wiped, and any damp or mouldiness removed from the surface of the sand in which they are placed. Regularity in watering, and also in shading, is absolutely necessary to insure success. When the young cuttings have begun to grow, air must be gradually admitted to them, so that by the time they are rooted and fit for transplanting they may be able to withstand the sun’s heat, and free exposure to the air. In regard to their first potting, the directions already — given for seedlings is applicable also to cuttings, as it also is to their sub- sequent culture. 66 GENERAL TREATMENT IN THE HOUSE. Ir has long been our opinion, although we are aware that it is not in exact accordance with general practice, that the Epacris, Helichrysum, and some other similar plants of the genera enumerated at the commence- ment of this article, should not be taken out of the greenhouse during summer, as the majority of plants are. This opinion is strengthened, by the success we have experienced, in a collection of about three hundred species of the best sorts, so managed under our own immediate charge, and much more so by observing the practice of those French and German cul- tivators who follow a similar plan, as well as that of the superior manage- ment of these plants in the Edinburgh botanical garden, where specimens are to be seen grown in tubs, from three to four feet in diameter, and the plants from eight to twelve feet in height. No cultivator has been so successful in this department as Mr. M‘Nab, the intelligent curator of that garden, from whose valuable treatise on the subject we take the following quotation. ‘ When I mention the treatment of heaths when in the house,” he says, ‘I must let it be understood that if I had sufficient accommodation under glass, I never would take heaths out of doors, unless it were for the purpose of shifting, or taking them from one house to another. My practice would be to keep them in the house all summer, giving them plenty of air, and to keep them cool during winter. I know it is the common practice to turn heaths out of doors for four or five months in summer and autumn, and it is also a pretty general opinion that by doimg so it makes them hardier, and enables them to stand the winter better than they would do if kept within doors during summer. From this opinion I must take the liberty of differing, as I know of no species of heath that will not bear as much cold in winter, without suffer- ing from it if kept in the house during summer, as they do when turned out of doors, and many of them, (perhaps all), I know, will bear more cold in the winter. For, by the latter practice, the young wood gets better ripened, and better able to resist cold-in winter.” The same excellent authority, in speaking of plants in general, recommends, where there is sufficient accommodation, to keep all plants under glass during summer, and, in such cases, to allow them plenty of room, “ for unless they are placed quite separate,” he observes, “‘ from each other, so that a free circulation can pass among them, they will suffer much more when crowded in the house in the summer than they will do in the same situa- tion during the winter, for in winter they are in a more dormant state, and not growing with the same vigour. I would however advise every } . , » ea . , : « - ~ | v : — Sage + . He # GENERAL TREATMENT. 67 one to keep as many of their best specimens and best kinds within door during summer as they can, without having them crowded together. I cannot give better directions than to say, that one should not touch the other when in the house in summer, and if the nearest part of one to the other is two or three inches apart, so much the better. The house, how- ever, should be ventilated at all times, and, except in cases of high wind er heavy rain, both top and front lights should be kept open night and” day ; and besides watering the earth in the pots freely when they require it, they should be well watered over-head with the garden engine every day; and if the weather is hot and dry, this operation should be performed twice every day, namely, both morning and evening.” There is one branch of culture in which we differ from the talented writer above quoted; he recommends a partial degree of shade during the hottest days ef summer. In this particular the Messrs. Loddiges agree with us, as do most of the continental cultivators. This, however, may be less important in the latitude of Edinburgh than in that of London, and is certainly much less so there than in most parts of France, or the south of Germany, and for that reason it may not be noticed in the excellent directions laid down by Mr. M‘Nab. Messrs. Loddiges follow the con- tinental fashion of shading by means of long slender branches of birch or other deciduous trees, which are laid over the roof of the house, breaking the full force of the sun’s rays, while at the same time air is not much obstructed. Our practice is to shade by spreading netting over the roof, and latterly by having a fine thin canvass awning, mounted on rollers, on the top of the house, which is let down or taken up at pleasure. Air cannot be too freely admitted to heaths, and, indeed, to all similar plants, and to effect this the upright lights may be left open altogether, until the thermometer, in the open air, falls to two or three degrees below the freezing point; indeed, we have even had the mould in the pots frozen pretty hard without the application of fire heat. If the house be pretty air-tight and dry, ‘fire heat will seldom be required ; for we find by Mr. M‘Nab, (Treatise, p. 31.), that he has had no accident in this respect when the thermometer out of doors indicated sixteen degrees of frost. The following quotation on this subject of temperature is so excel- Jent that we are induced to give it at length. “T have had all the heaths in the house frozen for days together, so hard that the pots could not be removed from their places without | breaking them, and fresh air constantly admitted at the time, and I have never seen one of them suffer in the smallest degree from it; but, on the contrary, found them thrive better than under any other treatment. F 2 68 THE HEATHERY. ‘‘T have several times had the heath house in winter without fire heat, when the thermometer out of doors stood at sixteen degrees below freezing. But in these cases the house was always shut close, and I have never seen the heaths suffer from this cold. I would not, however, advise any person to risk his heaths in such a temperature until he had himself tried some experiments on the degree of cold which they will bear, and from that he will learn more than he could from volumes written on the subject ; avery little observation will soon convince him that his heaths require but little fire heat during winter. I have already said that heaths suffer from too much artificial heat; and all that I have read on their cultivation seems to concur in this particular: but I am not aware that any one has pointed out what degree of heat or cold is injurious; and, indeed, I have only been able to ascertain this myself, to a very limited extent. The time, however, when these plants suffer most from heat ~is, when a sharp frost sets in, and no heat is applied till after the frost has taken effect in the inside of the house. Then a fire is put on, and the frost is driven out. Itis better, no doubt, in such a case, to keep out the thief if you can, but if once let in, keep him in, and never attempt to force him out. We know that heaths in the open air will not suffer when the thermometer stands four or five degrees below freezing; and we know also, that heaths in the house in winter will bear the same degree of cold with impunity. Now, we shall suppose the thermometer out of doors to fall to twelve or fourteen degrees below freezing, and no heat in the heath house ; the thermometer in the inside may then be four or five degrees below freezing. If there beno appearance of a change, then it is neces- sary to apply heat to the house; but all that is wanted in this case, is just enough to prevent the temperature from getting lower than it was when ‘the heat was introduced. Suppose the thermometer to sink to eighteen or twenty degrees below freezing during the night; the instru- ment inside should range as near as possible to what it. was when the heat was applied. This however requires very particular attention. From what I know, heaths will suffer, if, after the thermometer has fallen four or five degrees below freezing inside of the house, heat be added so as to raise the temperature, and drive out the frost, during the time the thermometer is still sinking out of doors. It would be much better if the house were left without fire heat, even with the thermometer fifteen or sixteen degrees below freezing point out of doors; such treatment is bad for all plants, but more particularly for heaths. If we were certain that the thermometer during the night would not sink more than ten or TREATMENT IN DOORS. 69 twelve degrees below freezing out of doors, no artificial heat whatever would be necessary in the heath house.” We have made this long quotation, because it is the tried practice of one of the best cultivators of the present day; and, if acted upon, will remove much of the cultivator’s anxiety, so far as the true principle of applying artificial heat is concerned, and convince him how small a degree of that element is really necessary, in greenhouses of the ordinary descriptions. During winter, water shouid be very sparingly applied to heaths; and in times of severe frost only enough should be given-to keep the plants from drooping. The case is different however, during spring and summer, when they should have it abundantly supplied once, and, in some cases, twice a-day, at their roots, and two or three times during the week over their leaves and branches by using the syringe or small garden engine. In regard to the general treatment of Cape heaths, we find the following excellent, plain, and useful directions laid down by Mr. Fyffe, in a com- munication in the fifth volume of the “ Horticultural Cabinet,” in answer to a correspondent who complains of his heaths getting naked, or, more pro- perly speaking, rusty. ‘“ This, I should say,” observes Mr. Fyffe, “is from the effects of drought; from being crowded close together ; or from the pots being exposed to the powerful rays of the sun. If the pots are placed in the open air, as is the practice with most of our hardy greenhouse plants, this always takes place with the more tender sorts of the Hrice. The sun acts so powerfully on the pots, when exposed for any period of time, as to dry the ball completely ; and, allowing the plant to be watered with the greatest care, the substance of peat soil being of a peculiarly drying nature, the water often runs off, if the plants are potted high, without penetrating to the centre of the ball ;—this is the cause of heaths going off so sud- denly. When once allowed to get completely dried up, you may water them and go away, fancying that all is right, when, perhaps, if you were to turn out the plant, the water has not penetrated one inch. The next day comes a hot and burning sun, your plants stand exposed as usual, and, by the action of the sun, the pot has succeeded in completely drying up the ball by mid-day ;—the plant stands so until night, and for six hours it is actually dying for moisture.” To remedy this evil, the following rule should, according to the above authority, be observed :—“ If in the habit of placing heaths in the open air, never do so without plunging the pots to the brims in cinders, ashes, or sand, the former being the best, not being liable to be infested with 70 THE HEATHERY. worms, keeping the ashes in a moist state by watering, as also giving each plant a regular supply every night, according to its state of dryness. Heaths are much benefitted by being partially shaded by canvass or any light substance when set in the open air, as the sun acts so powerfully on the foliage when first taken out of the house; but if a house is especially set apart for the cultivation of heaths, I would not,” says Mr. Fyffe, “‘ take them out at all, except a few, so that the rest may not be over-crowded, giving air at all times, except in very severe weather, or when cutting winds occur, if the stage of the house stands high or much exposed to drying winds. When air is admitted to the house,” Mr. F. recommends “the pots to be protected by placing a quantity of hypnum amongst them, keeping it moist by watering.” Cape heaths are very liable to be attacked by mildew, particularly in the neighbourhood of London: and some collections have been nearly destroyed from this cause.* Sulphur, applied either in a dry or moist state, is the most effectual cure, and should be applied upon the very first appearance of the disease, by dusting the plants all over with the dry flour of sulphur, or by making up a thick lather of sulphur, mixed with soap, and laid on the plants with a painter’s brush. It is difficult to trace the real cause of this disease; some attribute it to the practice of exposing them during summer to the power of the mid-day sun; others, to the excess of water given towards autumn; while many think it is an atmo- spheric disease, and that some situations are more liable to its effects than others. It is said to be of rare occurrence in Scotland, owing, pro- bably, to the summers being cooler there than in England. Whatever may be the cause, the effect is in general fatal, for heaths once attacked by the disease seldom recover. An anonymous contributor to the Gardener’s Magazine, Vol. IX. p. 245, observes that ‘“‘the best preventive is placing the plants, during summer, behind a wall, hedge, or other shelter; so that they may be shaded from the rays of the sun five or six hours in the hottest part of the day, without having recourse to awnings of any kind; likewise, to house them early in autumn, in houses where the sashes can be drawn off in fine weather, and put on to protect them from heavy rains. For the mere delicate species, generally kept in pits and frames in summer, the best preventive is to use lights glazed with green glass, keeping the lights on from nine o’clock in the morning till six o’elock in the evening, and giving plenty of air, by * Wildenow says it is occasioned by the growth of a fungus, the Mucor Erysiphe Linnei, or by a whitish slime deposited on the plant by some species of aphides.—Keith’s Botanical Lexicon, TREATMENT OUT OF DOORS. 71 tilting the lights up at the back of the pits and frames, but never to use shading of any description. The lights to be drawn entirely off during the night, except in rainy weather. With this mode of treatment, slight waterings over head occasionally are beneficial.” Heaths are not very subject to the attacks of insects ; the green fly, however, sometimes assails them, but these are readily got rid of by slight fumigations of tobacco. GENERAL TREATMENT OUT OF DOORS. A want of sufficient accommodation induces many to place a part if not all their heaths, as well as other greenhouse plants, out of doors; and habit, we believe, induces many more. The hardier and more free-growing kinds may not suffer much from this practice, but the finer and more delicate sorts evidently do. We believe the rationale of turning exotic plants into the open air, is to adopt the least of two evils; for if they be kept under glass during the growing season, and closely crowded together, they suffer as much for want of fresh air as they would do if placed in a sheltered situation in the open garden. It will be the most prudent method to adopt, to take out only such as are hardy and robust, leaving the more rare and tender sorts under cover ; in which they will then have plenty of room. The season for taking heaths out of the house commences about the end of April, when some of the hardiest kinds may be set out; the next hardier section in May, and the next in June, retaining by all means the most tender of all in the house. A dry, sheltered, but not shaded Situation should, if possible, be chosen for them,—dry, to protect them from a damp and impure atmosphere,—sheltered, to prevent them from being broken or upset by the wind, and shaded only to the extent necessary to secure them from the full force of the sun’s rays during the heat of the day. A somewhat elevated platform, covered with coal ashes, should be formed for them, upon which they should stand, without being plunged. If the spaces between the pots were filled with sphagnum, hypnum, or other mosses, the whole might be made ornamental and extremely useful ; first, by hiding the pots, and, secondly, by preventing the heat of the sun, which is very injurious, from acting upon the roots, which are extremely fine, delicate, and always placed round the extremity of the - balls, and in close contact with the pot. To avoid this, to save labour in watering, and to prevent them from being blown down, some recommend plunging them in the ground, or in the coal ash floor prepared for them ; but this latter practice is, we think, objectionable, as the roots are very 72 THE HEATHERY. liable to perish from cold and excess of humidity. Lines of cord should be stretched along the plant ground, and fastened to neat poles or stakes ; to these cords the plants should be individually fixed, to prevent their being blown down. From the end of September till the beginning of November is the proper season for removing plants again into the house, and a somewhat similar system should be acted upon as recommended for taking them out; only, those last taken out should be first taken into the house, and the next in Aotation. During summer, water should be copiously supplied, not only at their roots, but occasionally over their leaves and branches, by using the syringe or garden engine. But this must only be understood to apply to very hot and dry weather. Heaths, and all plants grown in peat earth, should never be allowed to become very dry at the root ; for, from the nature of the soil, it is difficult to supply a sufficient degree of moisture to them after they have become very dry. SOIL. There is no subject in gardening more difficult to give written directions upon, than that of soils, so little, unfortunately, have they been chemically studied, and so vague and unintelligible are the tests by which they are practically known. The soil which the Ericee and many other fine-| rooted plants prefer, is called peat, bog mould, heath mould, moor earth, &c., and abounds in sufficient quantities in many places, particularly in uncultivated heaths. But of this soil there are both good and bad sorts, that is, sorts in which plants will grow to perfection, and others in which they languish and decay. Nor is it to be taken for granted that that peat which produces the finest and healthiest crops of our common heaths, such as Erica Tetralix, and cinerea, is always a fitting soil to be used for exotic plants of similar habits; for many, by contenting them- selves with this test, have found out their error, when too late to remedy it. That peat is best which contains about one fourth or one fifth of coarse white sand, and is taken from a dry heathy common, which is never over- flowed with water, and off a sub-soil in which the recently discovered chemical substance, ecreasote, which has deleterious effects upon all vegetables, does not abound. It might be well for the cultivator to have a chemical analysis made of his soil, by which the presence or absence of creasote would be determined, and which any respectable chemist would discover for him. When abundance of sand does not naturally abound in the peat, any coarse white sand, free of irony matter, may be added. It appears to be of little consequence whether or not good peat i Tie SOIL FOR HEATHS. 73 be prepared for any previous period in the compost yard prior to using ; we rather think that the sooner it is used the better. As a substitute for peat, some have recommended very rotten dung, decayed leaves, &c., having a due proportion of gritty sand added; and others have suggested the addition of very rotten manure to be used with peat, with a view to increase the rapidity of the growth of the plants. The former may be used, in default of better, for hardy American plants, but the addition of the latter is by no means to be recommended. A very interesting paper appeared in the first volume of the Gardener’s Magazine, on the culture of Cape heaths, by Mr. J. Bowie, a botanical collector employed by the directors of the Kew garden, and who, having had ample opportunities of studying the natural habits of the genus, arrived at the following conclusions ; viz., that the soil in which the seeds of heaths should be sown, ought to be rather sandy than boggy ; the soil for the first potting off of seedlings should be three fourths sandy peat and one quarter sandy loam. For the first shifting of young plants, one half sandy peat and one half sandy loam; for the second shifting, one fourth sandy peat and three fourths sandy loam ; and for the third and future shiftings, sandy loam only. To show the propriety of such treatment, Mr. Bowie has selected the following list of sorts, stating the nature of the soils and situations in which they are found in their natural state. Linnzoides Tubiflora Colorans J Albens Ampullacea Retorta Ardens Fastigiata Fascicularis = running waters and springy grounds, a black vegetable soil. Shattered sandstone rocks, little or no soil, the roots embrac- ing the stones in the crevices. Caffra Eriocephala Gelida Halicacaba Similar situations to the last section, but they thrive more freely in the moist clifts, 3000 feet above the sea. Ca Ce eel Viscaria Blerioides Viridiflora Decomposed sandstone, shaded by Scirpoide, &c. eed Sebana Sexfaria Plukenetii Baccans Decomposed schistus, lower parts of the mountains and second- ary hills, exposed to drought. Massoni Calycina Retorta Walkeri Gracilis In pure sand, exposed to heat and drought on the mountains, from 2000 to 5000 feet above the sea’s level. Sa ae 74 THE HEATHERY. Mammosa Metulifiora Cerinthoides Ignescens Grandifiora In sand on the lower plains, frequently on spots abounding with natron. J Vestita a Filamentosa In loam, with iron pyrites, on the exposed plains and second- Pa uthoides ary mountains, enduring drought at times for several months. Cruenta Versicolor Triflora Urceolaris Persolnuta Decomposed schistus, on the stream in deep shaded glens. Arborescens Vestita ; : Versicolor In stiff loam and margins of woodlands, moist glens, &c., sur- Discolor rounded by various Pelargoniums, Scirpoide, &c. Hirta Thé soils in which the plants of the first and fourth of the above sections are found, approach nearly, Mr. Bowie observes, to some of our soils, but not precisely; he adds, that with the exception of those in the above two sections, no bog earth is wanting: it only, in his opinion, serves to weaken their growth, whereas a good sandy loam would strengthen them, and insure good flowering plants for years. WATER. Soft water alone should be used for watering plants of every denomina- tion: that from a pond or large river, or such as is collected in cisterns from the roofs of buildings, to be preferred. Water pumped from wells, and such as may be procured from springs, should be exposed for as long a period as possible to the action of the sun and air before it can be usefully applied to plants. Water impregnated with mineral matter, such as iron, salt, &c., should be carefully avoided; and that containing much calcareous matter is injurious to many plants, and to none more so than the genus Erica. . SHIFTING, OR POTTING. Early in spring appears, from practical observation, to be the most proper time for shifting or potting plants of this order that they may make roots during summer: but to this rule there are some exceptions, namely, the state of health of such individuals as require shifting into other pots at various periods of the year. All plants whose roots have completely filled the pots, and whose balls are hard in consequence, SHIFTING AND POTTING. Zo should be shifted into pots of one size larger. All plants that appear in a weak and sickly condition, should be turned out of the pots and the roots examined, the dead ones cut away, the sour and exhausted mould displaced, and then planted into a pot somewhat smaller than that out of which it was taken. When a pot feels heavier than usual, it is a sign that the ball has absorbed too much water,.either from an excess of that element having been supplied, or, as is more generally the case, from im- perfect draining. When such is the case, reduce the ball, prune the roots, and re-pot it as recommended above. The mould should be prepared by being chopped fine, or even put through a coarse sieve, of not less than one inch in the mesh, unless, indeed, the plants be young; for very large plants the mould may even be much coarser than that which will pass through a sieve of the above dimensions. Whether for large or small plants, it is absolutely necessary that the mould be dry at the time of potting, as should also be the pots into which the plants are to be put. It is not always necessary that new pots should be used, but care should be taken that they are clean, and selected of sizes to suit the plants to be operated on. In potting, draining is of the first importance ; for this purpose from one to three inches, according to the size of the pot, should be filled with broken pots, cinders, small stones, chippings of freestone, or small pebbles, over a piece of potsherd or oyster shell, placed over the hole in the bottom of the pot: over this drainage a thin layer of dry moss should be placed, to prevent the finer earthy particles from being washed down, and to stop the cavities through which the superfluous water is intended to pass; and as the various species of moss, hypna, &c., have the property of absorb- ing humidity, and also of retaining it for a considerable time, the roots will by this means be kept cool and moist, much to their advantage. In placing the plant in a new pot, it has been recommended to keep the top of the ball considerably above the level of the top of the pot: in so far as the plant is concerned, this is admitted to have rather an un- sightly appearance. The rationale of this mode of potting appears to be, that it prevents the plant suffering from excess of water, as the ball at the stem of the plant is so much above the level of the part next to the pot, that the water, instead of finding its way into the centre of the ball, passes down between it and the pot, where are all the roots that are capable of absorbing it for the use of the plant; the superabundant water passing — off through the drainage. The balls of heaths, if in good health, do not require to be broken, as is necessary with some other plants; it is in general sufficient if the sides 76 THE HEATHERY. of the balls be gently patted with the hand to loosen the outside fibres, which, in healthy plants, will be found in abundance round the outside of the ball, nor should any plant be shifted until such is the case. It appears te us that the free or luxuriant growing sorts thrive best in rather large pots, and in a peat soil not over sandy, while the slow grow- ing and slender sorts require much smaller pots, and a soil in which more sand abounds, either naturally or by addition ; it is also necessary that the pots into which the latter are to be placed should be completely drained. The latter also requires at all times much less water, because they are, for the most part, found indigenous in soils and on situations where little soil and less moisture abounds. BLZRIA AND SYMPIEZA. Two genera which very much resemble heaths; natives of the Cape of Good Hope, and requiring exactly the same treatment as Erica. EPACRIS. This beautiful genus thrives best in very sandy turf mould, of a peaty nature. Cuttings strike best when taken off during winter or early in spring; they seldom succeed when struck during summer. They should be planted in sand, and placed under bell glasses; their treatment other- wise, is not different from that recommended above for Erica. SPRENGELIA, ANDERSONIA, AND LYSINEMA, Have much of the Epacris in habit. They are propagated by cuttings of the young wood, and also from imported seeds, exactly in the same manner as Epacris and Erica, requiring the same soil and general treat- ment. DRACOPHYLLUM. This is a singular genus of plants, very difficult to increase other- wise than by seeds, and these are seldom imported, at least if they are they seldom grow, for D. secundum is in particular a very rare plant. Cuttings of the half-ripened shoots have been rooted in sand under a glass in a moderate heat. ASTROLOMA AND STYPHELIA. These are increased by cuttings, and require the same soil and after- treatment with Andersonia. GENERA OF SIMILAR HABIT. “I GNAPHALIUM, METALASTA, ASTELMA, ELICHRYSUM, HELICHRYSUM, PHZNOCOMA, AND APHELEKXIS. These are greenhouse plants of very great beauty, and formerly stood under the names of Gnaphalium and Elichrysum. All of them are readily increased by seeds, which often ripen in this country, and are sometimes imported from the Cape of Good Hope, from whence most of them come. The seeds should be sown as soon as ripe, or as soon as received, in light sandy peat soil, placed in a dry airy situation, in a pit or greenhouse. When they vegetate and are about an inch high, they should be potted off into small pots, three or four plants in each, as recommended for heaths. The hard-wooded species have been by most cultivators considered very difficult to increase by cuttings, but if they be planted in sand in a brisk hotbed and left uncovered, they will root freely. Even pieces of con- siderable size of Phenocoma prolifera, one of the handsomest of the tribe, have been successfully propagated in this manner. These plants are much admired on account of the beauty of their flowers; and from the circumstance of their retaining their colours and perfect forms long after they are cut, they have obtained the name of everlasting flowers. Sandy peat soil is the most suitable for them when rected, and the same after- treatment as recommended for Ericas will suit them. ADENANDRA, BARYOSMA, AGATHOSMA, AND DIOSMA, Were originally ranged under the genus Diosma. This is a section of handsome plants, bearing some resemblance to heaths, and flowering abundantly. To many the scent of this tribe is unpleasant, while with others it is quite the reverse. Cuttings of the tips of the young shoots root freely.planted in sand, and placed ina cool place under a bell glass. Many of them ripen their seeds in our gardens, from which a stock is soon procured. They prefer a soil similar to Heaths, and prosper best when treated in the same manner as that delightful family. CORRZAA. This genus strikes freely, if we except C. speciosa. The cuttings should be taken off the ripened wood, planted in sand in autumn, and allowed to stand till spring in a cool pit, when they should be placed upon a slight bottom heat and left uncovered ; they will soon strike root, and may then be potted off into small pots, and hardened to stand in the greenhouse. C. speciosa is better to be enarched or grafted on stocks of C. alba; by this means large plants will be obtained in a short time. A light sandy 78 THE HEATHERY. peat in well-drained pots is required for them; their other treatment differs not from that of plants admitted into the Heathery.. BORONIA. This is a valuable genus, flowering nearly all the year. They are pro- pagated by layers, and by ripened cuttings, and some of the more difficult rooting sorts are successfully enarched upon B. alata, which strikes more freely than others. Plants of these delicate habits seldom make fine specimens when propagated by layers ; it is better, therefore, to endeavour to originate them either from cuttings or by enarching. The cuttings should be taken off at a joint, planted in sand, and placed in a mode- rately warm, but not hot place, and covered with a glass, which must be often removed to be cleared of damp. Light, turfy, sandy peat is the proper soil for them, and the greatest care must be taken that the pots be well drained, and in after-culture that they be not injured by having too much water. The treatment of the Heathery is the most proper for this fine genus. CROWEA, Is also a lovely genus and free flowerer. Cuttings of the young shoots strike freely when planted in sand, and left uncovered if in heat, but covered with a bell glass if kept in a cool situation. ERIOSTEMON,. This is a difficult genus to cultivate. Imported seeds are sometimes obtained, but we have found them rather difficult to vegetate. Cuttings-of the half-ripened wood have been struck under a glass in a light sandy soil. When seeds can be obtained, they should be sown in the same soil the plant is to be grown in, and as they sometimes remain a long time without vegetating, the seed pots should not be thrown away under eighteen months. Light, turfy peat soil, and the general treatment of the Heathery, is the best for them, taking care that they are not kept too damp. The plants we have selected from the natural order Leguminose, viz., C¥CLOPIA, OXYLOBIUM, GASTROLOBIUM, PULTENZA, AOTUS, EUTAXIA, DAVIESIA, CHORIZEMA, PODOLOBIUM, DILLWYNIA, GOMPHOLOBIUM, LIPA- RIA, BOSSILEA, PLATYLOBIUM, SCOTTIA, TEMPLETONIA, HOVEA, and LoD- DIGESIA, are all extremely beautiful, but are not by any means, if we except the last, easily multiplied otherwise than by seeds; all of them when old enough ripen seeds in this country, and seeds of most species are easily procured from New Holland, where most of them are indigenous. SELECT LIST OF HEATHS. 79 It is a curious fact that few papilionaceous woody plants increase readily by cuttings, or the other ordinary means used, but all of them produce seeds in abundance, and these vegetate freely. The best mode of increasing the genera under consideration, is certainly by seeds; some of them will strike by cuttings, but it is both a tedious and precarious process; yet, nevertheless, we are often compelled to adopt it. Young wood is generally chosen, and that planted in sand under bell glasses is considered the best plan. The soil in which this splendid assemblage of plants seems to flourish is light, turfy peat, although Chorizema is often found to grow luxuriantly in a loamy soil. Loddigesia strikes root freely, the young shoots being planted in sand and a glass placed over them. SELECT LIST OF ERICAS, OR HEATHS. WHITE. Six to eighteen inches high. Clear-flowered. (EH. perspicua.) Flow- | Incurved. (#. incurva.) Flowers from ers from March to June. Transparent. (EH. transparens.) Flow- ers in May. Elongated. (KH. elongata.) Flowers from February to November. Bowie’s. (EH. Bowieana.) Flowers from August to December. Smooth. (E£. ee) Flowers from May to August. Irby’s. (&. Trbyana.) Flowers from June to October. Lady Shannon’s. Flowers in June. Lady Clifford’s. (E#. Cliffordiana.) Excelling. (EH. prestans.) Flowers from June to November. Peaked. (H. fastigiata.) Flowers from May to September. {H. Shannoniana.) Muscari. (H. Muscari.) Flowers from March to July. Spruce. ae trossula.) Flowers from April to May. Three-flowered. (E. trifiora.) Flowers from March to June. Lachnea-leaved. (HH. lachnefolia. ) Flowers from May to July.) Black-tipped. (E. nigrita.) from March to Jnne. Flowers Wanton. (E. salaxv.) Flowers from April to May. Phylica-like. (EH. phylicoides.) Flow- ers from April to June. May to July. Wooly-fiowered. (#. vellerifiora.) Flow- ers in June. Brunia-like. (H. bruniades.) Flowers from April to June. eee (EZ. flaccida.) Flowers in day. Six-parted. (EH. sexfaria.) Flowers from May to August. Opposite-leaved. "CR. oppositifolia. ) Flowers from March to May. Two-flowered. (H. biflora.) from April to January. Frothy. (H#. spumosa.) Flowers from May to August. Pyrola - flowered. ( #. pyrolefiora. ) Flowers from May to July. Lambert’s. (H. Lambertiana.) Flow- ers from May to August. Pearl-flowered. (H. margaritacea. ) Flowers from May to September. Softest. (H. mollissima.) Flowers in May. Close-headed. . congesta.) Flowers from June to July. Cestus-leaved. (2. cistifolia.) Flowers . from May to June. Perfumed. (E£. odorata.) from April to July. Flowers Flowers. Pure. ao _ pura.) ‘Flowers from Au- gust to September. 80 Crowded-flowered. (£E. conferta. ) Flowers from February to October. Snowy. (EE. nivea.) Flowers from April to May. Villous. (&. villosa.) Flowers from February to June. Heart-leaved. (E. cordata.) Flowers from April to June. Refiexed. (HH. reflera.) Flowers from May to June. White-anthered. (E. leucanthera.) Flowers from January to May. Pitcher-flowered. (E. urceolaris.) Flow- ers from May to July. Rising. (EK. assurgens.) Flowers from May to June. Caffrarian. (E.caffra.) Flowers from February to October. Hoary. (EK. incana.) June to August. Flowers from | THE HEATHERY. Protruding. (E. ania emia Flowers from April to May. Ziz-z (E. fleruosa.) Flowers from April to J oy Roughish. (EK. scabriuscula.) Flowers from May to June. Whitish. (E. albens.) Flowers from March to August. Very-flowery. (E. bryantha.) Flowers from June to July. Silver-flowered. ( E. argentiflora. ) Flowers from April to July. Bearded. (E. barbata.) Flowers from May to August. Retroflexed. (E. retroflera.) Flowers from July to September. Spear-leaved. (E. lanceolata.) Flow- ers from June to December. Three-headed. (E. triceps.) Flowers from May to June. From eighteen inches and upwards. Pencilled-flowered. (E. penicillifiora.) Flowers from April to July. Cylindrica. (E. cylindrica.) from May to June. Softy. (HE. procera.) April to June. Pellucid. (E. pellucida.) Flowers from June to November. Coloring. (#. colorans.) Flowers from April to June. Pine-leaved. (E. pityophylla.) Flowers from February to July. Clothed. (E. vestita.) Flowers all the year. Lady Monson’s. (EE. Monsoniana.) Flowers from April to September. Dickenson’s. (E. Dickensonii.) Flow- ers from May to August. Jasmine-flowered. (E. jasminijfiora.) Flowers from June to August. Flask. (EZ. ampuilacea.) Flowers from June to August. Aiton’s. (E. Aitoniana.) Flowers from June to September. Conquering. (E. triumphans.) Flowers from May to June. Bright. (E. nitida.) July to October: Flowers Flowers from | | | | Flowers from Tree. (E. arborea.) February to June. Meagre. (E. strigosa.) Flowers from April to July. Marum-leaved. (E. marifolia.) Flow- ers from May to June. Helianth-leaved. (E. helianthemifolia.) Flowers from February to April. White-pencilled. (E. penicillifiora.) Flowers from May to August. Villous. (&. villosa.) Flowers from February to June. Sparrow-wort. (E. passerina.) Flow- ers from May to November. Milk-flowered. (E. Jactiflora.) Flowers from June to September. Acute-angled. (H. acutangula.) Flow- ers from March to April. Flowers from gnc (EZ. deflera.) Flowers in uly. Whitish. (E. albida.) Flowers from May to September. Bell-flowered. (E. noleflora.) Flowers from March to May. Daphne-like. (E. daphnoides.) Fiow- ers from May to June. PURPLE. Siz to eighteen inches high. Round-headed. (E. cephalotes.) Flow- ers from May to July. Parcel-flowered. (#. fascicularis. ) Flowers from February to June. Diaphanous. (#. diaphana.) Flowers from June to July. Trumpet-formed-flowered. (E. duccini- formis.) Flowers from June to July. Niven’s. (#. Niveniana.) Flowers from February to July. Admirable. (E. mirabilis.) Flowers from May to June. Turgid. (#. furgida.) Flowers from April to July. Modest. (#. medesta.) Flowers from April to May. SELECT LIST OF HEATHS. Oval-flowered. (4. ovalifiora.) Flow- ers from June to July. Gels’s. (E. Celsii.) Flowers frem June to July. Rachowed, (E. taxifolia.) Flowers from July te Nevember. Fragrant. (EH. fragrans.) from March to June. Sub-bristly-stemmed. (EZ. hispidula.) Flowers from June to August. Clustered. (EH. aggregata.) Flowers from July to August. Flowers Pleasing. (E£. amend.) Flowers from March to J uly. Early. (E. precox.) Flowers from January to March. Garland-flower. (#. persoluta.) Flow- ers from February to May. $i Pubescent. (E. pubescens.) Flowers from February to December. Cube-flowered. (E£. cubica.) Flowers from April to July. Delicate. (E. tenella.) Flowers from May to August. Linnea-like. (EH. Linneoides.) Flow- ers frem February to May. Linneus’. (KH. Linneana.) from January to May. Cloth-flowered. (EZ. pannosa.) Flowers from February to June. Wooly. (#. lanuginosa.) January to September. Denticulated. (KH. denticulata.) Flow- ers from April to May. Cowslip-like. (E. primuloides.) Flow- ers from April. Flowers Flowers From eighteen inches and upwards. Rollinson’s. (E. Roilinsenii.) Flowers from June to July. Mammose. (E. mammosa.) from July te October. Glutineus. (#. glutinesa.) Flowers from July to Ocieber. Varnish-flowering. (H. verniciflora.) Fiowers from March to September. Bandon’s. (#. Bandoniana.) Flowers from July to August. Neatish. (£. mundula.) Flowers from February te October. Noble. (£. nobilis.) April to July. Flowers Flowers from Large-calyxed. (E. calycina.) Flowers from May to July. Oblique. May to J uly. (E. obliqua.) Flowers from | Shining. (H#. nitens.) Flowers frem June to September. Tomentose. (H. tomentosa.) Flowers frem June to July. Star-bearing. (A. stelliferg.) Flowers from April to July. Constantia. (E. Constantia.) Flowers from March to August. Pot-flowered. (#. cressata.) Flowers from May to June. Graceful. (E. decora.) Flowers from January to N ovember. Small-branchy. (Z.ramulosa.) Flowers from June to July. Umbelled. (#. umbellata.) Flowers from May to July. Magnificent. (E. magnifica.) Flowers from August to November. RED. Siz to eighteen inches high. Plukenet’s. (KE. Piukenetii.) Flowers from April to July. Blackmouthed. (HE. melastoma. ) Flow- ers from May to July. : Ignescent. (EK. igneseens.) from March to June. Glandulous-haired. Flowers from May to June. Pellucida-like. (. pellucidioides. ) Flowers from August to November. Sweating. (KE. exudans.) Flowers from October to November. Rusty. (4. ferruginea.) Flowers from May to July. Pointed - leaved. (EE. acuminata. ) Flowers from July to Octeber. Dense. (H. densa.) Flowers from May to August. Slender. . (BE. tenuis.) Flowers from July to August. Flowers (E. glandulosa.) | | Tufted. (EF. cemosa.) April to August. Small-awned. (E. aristella.) Flowers from June to July. July. (E. Juliana.) July. Red-bracted. (#. bracteata.) Flowers from May to June. Gowned. (E. togata.) Flowers from June to July. Channelled. (E. canaliculata.) Flow- ers from February to August. Callous. (E. callosa.) Flowers from June to July. Spot-fiowered. (E. guttefiora.) Flow- ers from May to August. Side-flowered. (#. iateralis. ) Flowers from March to July, Savile’s. (&. Savileana. ) from June to July. Flowers from Flowers from Flowers G 82 THE HEATHERY. Panicled. (EH. paniculata.) Flowers Regerminating. (Z. regerminans.) from February to April. Flowers from May to August. Mucous. (E. mucosa.) Flowers from Little tree. (E. arbuscula.) Flowers February to August. from February to August Ramentaceous. (E. ramentacea. ) Pretty. EE. pulchella.) Flowers from ! Flowers from July to December. June to September. Sienderest. (E. tenuissima.) Flowers | Beautiful. (#. bella.) Flowers from from February to August. | January to October. Approximate, (£. approximata. ) Flow- | ers from May to July. From eighteen inches and upwards. Showy. (H. speciosa.) Flowers from | Temple’s. (£. Templeana.) Flowers June to September. | from July to August. Translucent. (E. translucens.) Flowers Swelled. (EE. pregnans.) Flowers from May to August. from May to July. Three-leaved. (2. triphylla.) Flowers Ampuilacea-like. (E. ampullaceoides.) from July to November. Flowers from May to July. Long-leaved. (E. longifolia.) Flowers Broadley’s. (E. Broadleyana.) Flow- from February to July. ers from May to July. Pine-leaved. (E. pinea.) Flowers Solander’s. (EH. Solandra.) Flowers from August to December. from August to November. Fiax-like. "(E. linoides.) Flowers from Mitre-formed. (E. mitreformis.) Flow- July to September. ers from June to July. Masson’s. (EK. Massoni.) Flowers Broad-leaved. (E. latifolia.) Flowers from July to October. | from May to August. Pectinated-leaved. (EK. pectinifolia.) Clammy-flowered. (EZ. viscaria.) Flow- Flowers from June to November. | ers from March to July. Swainson’s. (E£.Swainsoni.) Flowers | Handsome. (KE. formosa.) Flowers from July to October. from June to September. Three-coloured. (#. tricolor.) Flowers | Canescent. (E. canescens.) Flowers from June to July. from March to October. PALE RED. Six to eighteen inches high. Pale. (E. pallens.) Flowersfrom June | Meagre. (&. strigosa.) Flowers from to August. March to April. Flesh-coloured. (K. inearnata.) Flow- Funnel-shaped. (4. infundibuliformis.) ers from February to June. Flowers from August to November. ORANGE. Six to eighteen inches high. Saw-leaved. (HE. serratifolia.) Flowers | Thunberg’s. (£. Thunbergia.) Fiow- from August to December. | ers from May to August. Sparmann’s. (EZ. Sparmanni.) Flowers Seba’s. (FE. Sebana.) Flowers from from March to September. | _ March to June. Rising. (£. exsur‘gens.) Flowers all , Changing-coloured. (E. versicolor.) the year. Flowers from May to November. Ninepin-flowered. (EK. metulefiora.) Hibbert’s. (#. Hibbertiana.) Flowers Flowers from June to August. : from June to September. From eighteen inches and upwards. Painted. (#. picfa.) Flowers from Lee’s. (EH. Leeana.) Flowers from July to October. July to August. Patersonia-like. (EK. Patersonioides.) Tall. (£. elata.) Flowers from July Flowers from April to August. to September. Gold-coloured. (E. aurea. ) Flowers from July to September. SELECT LIST OF HEATHS. 83 YELLOW. From six to eighteen inches high. Virescent. (£. virescens.) Flowers in May. Dull-yellow. (E. gilva.) Flowers from May to June. Onosma-flowered. (E. onosmefiora.) Flowers from March to September. Rough. (#. aspera.) Flowers from May to June. Red nightshade. (HH. WHalicacaba.) Flowers from May to August. Yellow. (E. lutea.) Flowers from February to May. Bonpland’s. (HE. Bonplandiana.) Flow- ers from March to September. Downy-headed. (E. capitata.) Flow- ers from March to July. SS Lord Blandford’s. (EZ. Blandfordiania.)} Flowers from Marchto June. Bell-fiowered. (EF. campanulata. ) Flowers from April to August. Three-leaved-yellow. (#. flava.) Flow- ers from April to September. Interwoven. (EH. intertexa.) Flowers from June to July. Thalictrum-flowered. (E. thalictri- jiora.) Flowers from March to May. Depressed. (EH. depressa.) Flowers from June to August. Dwarf. (#. nana.) Flowers from May to August. From eighteen inches and upwards. Petiver’s. (EH. Petiverii.) from March io July. Great-fiowered. (#. grandiflora. ) Flowers from May to September. Spout-flowered. (E. epistomia.) Flow- ers from May to June. Spiked. (EH. spicata.) Flowers all the ear Flowers year. Paterson’s. (£. Patersoniana.) Flow- ers from March to August. Sulphur. (EH. sulphurea.) Flowers from june to July. Curve-fiowered. (#. eurvifiora.) Flow- ers from July to October. Sprengel’s. (4. Sprengelii.) Flowers from June to July. Fiat-flowered. (#. complanata.) Flow- ers from May to July. SCARLET. Siz to eighteen inches high. Expanded. (#. expansa.) Flowers from May to September. Pinaster-leaved. (E. pinastrifolia.) Flowers from July to August. Gem-bearing. (Z. gemmifera.) Flowers from May to July. Princely. (#. princeps.) Flowers from May to July. Tumid. (E. tumida.) Fiowers from May to Semptember. Echium-fowered. (E. echiifiora. ) Flowers from February to June. From eighteen inches and upwards. Whorled. (£. veriicillata.y Flowers from July to October. Choice-red. (EK. eximia.) Flowers from June to July. g. (KE. splendens.) Flowers from Aprilto September. ent. (E#. refulgens.) Flowers from April to July. Honeywort-like. (£. cerinthoides. ) Flowers from May to November. | | | | | Glowing. (E. ardens.) Flowers from April to June. Lady Archer’s. (£. Archeriana. ) Flowers from August to November. Wooly-fiowered. (£./anifiora.) Flow- ers from March to August. Imperial. (2. imperialis.) from May to July. Flowers G 2 a 84 GREEN. Six to eighteen Hanging down. (E. demissa.) Flowers from April to May. Clubbed. (E. clavata.) Flowers from July to August. Club-flowered. (E. claveflora. Flow- ers from August to October. THE HEATHERY. inches high. Musk-scented. (EH. moschata.) Flow- ers from May to July. Elegant. (E. elegans.) Flowers from March to November. Pilose. (EH. pilosa.) June to July. Flowers from From eighteen inches and upwards. Sandal-flowered. (#. socciflora.) Flow- ers from April to, May. Ice-cold. (H. gelida.) April to July. Green and purple. (E. viridipurpurea.) Flowers from May to August. Flowers from Green-flowered. (E. viridis.) Flowers from May to September. Two-colour. (E. bicolor.) from March to October. Broom. (E. scoparia.) Flowers from April to May. Flowers CRIMSON. Six to eighteen Bloody. (EH. sanguinea.) Flowers all the year. Mutable. (EK. mutabilis.) Flowers from February to October. UW 7) SU DS inches high. Radiated. (E. radiata.) Flowers from August to November. A Heath, showing Mr. M‘Nab’s manner of potting. SELECT LIST OF PLANTS, REQUIRING THE SAME TREATMENT AS ERICA, AND CALCULATED TO BE GROWN IN THE SAME STRUCTURE. Side-flowering Dracophyllum. (Draco- phyllum secundum.) Flowers in April and August, in sandy peat. Suckers. Long-leaved Dracophyllum. (Draco- phyllum longifolium.) Flowers in April and August, in sandy peat. Cuttings. Slender Dracophyllum. (Dracophyl- lum gracile.) Flowers in April and May, in sandy peat. Cuttings. Pungent Lysinema. (Lysinema pun- gens.) Flowers in February and April, in loam and peat. Cuttings. Attenuated Lysinema. ( Lysinema attenuatum.) Flowers in February and April, in loam and peat. Cut- tings. Scattered Epacris. (Hpacris sparsa.) Flowers in April and June, in sandy peat. Cuttings. Drawn-out Epacris. (Epacris exseria.) Flowers in April and June, in loam and peat. Cuttings. Jamaica albescent Gnaphalium. (Gna- phalium albescens.) Flowers in July and August, in common loam. Spherical Gnaphalium. (Gnaphalium sphericum.) Flowers in July and August, in common mould. Divi- sions. Diosma-leaved Helichrysum. (Heili- chrysum diosmefolium.) Flowers in March and August, in common mould. Cuttings. Helianthemum-leaved Helichrysum. (Helichrysum _ helianthemifolium.) Flowers in July and October, in common loam. Cuttings. Whitened Helichrysum. (Helichrysum dealbatum.) Flowers all the year, incommon loam. Cuttings. Silvery Helichrysum. (ietickryoun argenteum.) Flowers in April and June, incommon loam. Cuttings. ee STEED OTT nen tana aunaumammmennennenaaa dimamniammesment annem enim Rigid-leaved Helichrysum. ( Heli- chrysum rigidum.) Flowers in May and June, in common loam. Cut- tings. Panicled Helichrysum. (Helichrysum paniculatum.) Flowers in June and September, in common loam. Cut- tings. Heath-like Aphelexis. ( Aphelexis ericoides.) Flowers in April and June, in sandy peat. Cuttings. Acuminate Adenandra. (Adenandra acuminata.) Flowers in April and July, in peat and loam. Cuttings. Four-angled Adenandra. (Adenandra tetragona.) Flowers in April and June, in peat andloam. Cuttings. Sweet-scented Baryosma. (Baryosma odorata.) Flowers in April and July, in peat andloam. Cuttings. Crenated Baryosma. (Baryosma@ cre- nata.) Flowers in January and March, in peat andloam. Cuttings. Birch-leaved Baryosma. (Baryosma betulina.) Flowers in April and June, in peat and loam. Cuttings. Broad-leaved Agathosma. (Agathosma latifolia.) Flowers in July and August, in peat and loam. Cut- tings. Ciliated Agathosma. ( Agathosma ciliata.) Flowers in April and May, in peat andloam. Cuttings. Wrinkled Agathosma. (Agathosma rugosa.) Flowers in April and June, in peat andloam. Cuttings. Bearded Agathosma. ( Agathosma barbata.) Flowers in April and June, in peat and loam. Cuttings. Clothed Agathosma. ( Agathosma vestita.) Flowers in April and June, in peat and loam. Cuttings. Pubescent Agathosma. ( Agathosma pubescens.) Flowers in May and August, in peat andloam. Cuttings. PE RN EE RR « ' agen sae oot | \ | | 86 Flax-leaved Agathosma. (Agathosma linifolia. Flowers in April and June, in peat andloam. Cuttings. Succulent-leaved Diosma. (Diosma succulenta.) Flowers in April and June, in peat andloam. Cuttings. White-flowered Diosma. ( Diosma alba.) Flowers in March and July, in peat andloam. Cuttings. Four-angled Diosma. (Diosma tetra- gona.) Flowers in July and nee in peat andloam. Cuttings PLANTS REQUIRING Slenderest Diosma. (Diosma teniuis- sima.) Flowers in April and July, in peat and loam. Cuttings. Delicate Diosma. (Diosma tenella.) Flowers in April and July, in peat and loam. Cuttings. Ledum-leaved Boronia. (Boronia ledi- folia.) Flowers in March and April, in sandy peat. Cuttings. Corymbose Daviesia. (Daviesia coryin- bosa.) Flowers in May and August, in sandy loam and peat. Cuttings. WHITE. From three to six feet high. Biunt-leaved Epacris. tusifolia.) Flowers in April and June, in sandy peat. Cuttings. Various-stamened Epacris. (Epacris (Epacris ob- heteronema.) Flowers in April and | July, in sandy peat. Cuttings. Great-flowered Helichrysum. (Heli- chrysum grandifior um.) Flowers in January and August, in sandy peat. Cuttings. Tree Helichrysum. ( Helichrysum arboreum.) Flowers in February and August, in sandy peat. Cut- tings Spreading Helichrysum. (Helichry- sum patulum.) Flowers in January and August, in sandy peaf. Cnut- tings. Wooly- stemmed Helichrysum. (Heli- chrysum lasiocaulon. ) Flowers in January and August, in sandy peat. Cuttings. Opposite- leaved Diosma. (Diosma op- positifolia.) Flowers in March and uly, in peat and loam. Cuttings. Subulate Diosma. (Diosma subulata.) Flowers in March and July, in peat and loam. Cuttings. White Correa. ( Correa alba. ) Flow- ers in April and June, in sandy peat. Cuttings. RED. From one to three feet high. Onosma-flowered Epacris. (Epacris onosmefiora.) Flowers in April and June, in sandy peat. Cuttings. Fiery-flowered Helichrysum. (Heli- erneee ignescens.) Flowers in June and October, in sandy peat. Cut- tings. Shining-flowered Helichrysum. (Heii- chrysum rutilans.) Flowers in June and August, in sandy peat. Cut- tings. Pleasing Adenandra. ( Adenandra amend. ) Flowers in April and June, in peat and loam. Cuttings: Red Diosma. (Diosma rubra.) Flow- ers in March and May, in peat and loam. Cuttings. Flesh-coloured Pulteneza. (Pultenea incarnata.) Flowers in April and June, in sand, loam,and peat. Cut- tings. Retuse-leaved Templetonia. (Temple- tonia retusa.) Flowers in March | | | : and January, in sandy peat. Cut- tings. Glaucous Templetonia. (Templetonia glauca.) Flowers in April and May, in sand and peat. Cuttings. Winged Boronia. (Boronia alata.) Flowers in March and J anuary, in sandy peat. Cuttings. Willow-leaved Eriostemon. (Erioste- mon salicifolius.) Flowers in April and June, in sandy peat and loam. Cuttings. Heath-leaved Eriostemon. (Erioste- mon ericifolius.) Flowers in April and August, in sand, loam, and peat. Cuttings. Lanceolate Eriostemon. (Eriostemon lanceolatus.) Flowers in April and August, in sand, loam, and peat. Cuttings. Tooth-leaved Scottia. (Scottia den- tata.) Flowers in June and Septem- ber, in sandy peat. Cuttings. THE TREATMENT OF HEATHS. From three to six feet high. Small-pointed Epacris. (Epacris mu- cronulata.) Flowers in April and July, in sandy peat. Cuttings. Marsh Epacris. (Epacris paludosa.) Flowers in April and July, in sandy peat. Cuttings. Linear-leaved Eriostemon. (rioste- mon linearifolius.) Flowers in April and August, in sandy peat. Cnut- | tings. YELLOW. From one to three feet high. American Gnaphaliom. (Graphalium americanum.) Flowers in July and August, in sandy loam. Cuitings. Waved Gnaphbalium. ( Gnaphalium undulatum.) Flowers in January and August, in common loam. From seeds. Sweetest-scented Helichrysum. (Heli- chryusum odoratissimum.) Flowers in April and August, in sandy peat. Cuttings. Shining Helichrysum. (Helichrysum Sulgidum.) Flowers in February and October, in common loam. Cut- tings. Herbaceous Helichrysum. (Helichry- sum herbaceum.) Flowers in July and September, in common loam. Seeds. Spiny Oxylobium. (Oxylobium spine- sum.) Flowers in April and June, in sandy peat. Cuttings. Two-lobed Gastrolobium. ( Gastro- lobium bilobum.) Flowers in March and May, in sand, loam, and peat. Cuttings. Pultenea. The whole of this beau- tiful and interesting genus belongs to this section, with the solitary exception of P. incarnatum ; their flowers are all yellow ; they are all increased by cut- tings and seeds, and require a soil composed of sandy loam and peat, and flower between April and July. The same may be said of the genera | Aotus, DILLWYNIA,GOMPHOLOBIUM. j | From three to six feet high. Shrubby Helichrysum. (Helichrysum Sruticans.) Flowers in January and August, in common loam. Cuttings. Cinerous Helichrysum. (Helichrysum tephrodes.) Flowers in January and August, in sandy peat. Cuttings. Broad-leaved Daviesia. (Daviesia lati- folia.) Flowers in May and August, in sand, loam and peat. Cuttings. Furze-leaved Daviesia. ( Daviesia ulicina.) Flowers in April and Au- gust, in sand, loam, and peat. Cut- tings. Winged Daviesia. (Daviesia alata.) Flowers in May and August, in sand, loam, and peat. Cuttings. ¥Yarious-leaved Podolobium. (Podo- lobium heterophyllum.) Flowers in April and July, in sand and peat. Cuttings. Climbing Podolobium. (Podolobium scandens.) Fiowers in April and June, in sand and peat. Cuttings. Sword Bossiewa. (Bossiea ensata.) Flowers in May and June, in sand, loam, and peat. Cuttings. Round - leayed Bossizxa. ( Bossiza rotundifolia.) Flowers in May and June, in sand, loam, and peat. Cut- tings. Heart-leaved Oxylobium. (Oxylobium cordifolium.) Flowers in April and September, in sandy peat. Cat- tings. Arborescent Oxylobium. (Oxylobium arborescens.) Flowers in April and July, in sandy peat. Cuttings. Genista-like Cyclopia. (Cyclopia ge- nistoides.) Flowers in July and Au- gust, in peat and loam. Cuttings. Broad-leaved Cyclopia. (Cyclopia lati- folia.) Flowers in July and August, in peat andloam. Cuttings. Box-leaved Bossiza. (Bossiea buzi- folia.) Flowers in May and June, in sand, loam, and peat. Cuttings. Leafy Bossizxa. (Bossiea foliosa.) Flowers in May and July, in sand, loam, and peat. Small-leaved Bossiwa. (Bossiea mi- crophylla.) Flowers in May and August, in sand, loam, and peat. Cuttings. 88 PLANTS REQUIRING PURPLE. From one to three feet high. Heath-leaved Bleria. (Bleria eri- coides.) Flowers in August and Oc- tober, in sandy peat. Cuttings. Mossy Bleria. (Bleria muscosa. ) Flowers in January and August, in loam and peat. Cuttings. Purple - flowered Bleeria. ( Bleria purpurea.) Flowers in May and June, in sandy peat. Cuttings. Capitate Diosma. (Diosma capitata.) Flowers in May and June, in peat and loam. Cuttings. Pinnated-leaved Boronia. (Boronia pinnata.) Flowers in February and March, in sandy peat. Cuttings. Oxalis-leaved Loddigesia. ' (Loddigesia oxalidifolia.) Flowers in May and September, in peat andloam. Cut- tings. Sesamum-like Aphelexis. (Aphelexis sesamoides.) Flowers in April and June, in sandy peat. Cuttings. Fascicled Aphelexis. (Aphelexis fasci- culata.) Flowers in March and Sep- tember, in sandy peat. Cuttings. Obtuse - leaved Agathosma. ( Aga- thosma obtusa.) Flowers in April and January, in peat and loam. Cuttings. Hairy Agathosma. (Agathosma hirta.) Flowers in April and January, im peat andloam. Cuttings. Short-leaved Agathosma. (Agathosma brevifolia.) Flowers in April and June, in loam and peat. Cuttings. From three to six feet high. Purpurescent Epacris. (Hpacris pur- purescens.) Flowers in January and March, in sandy peat. Cuttings. Close-headed Helichrysum. ( Heii- chrysum congestum.) Flowers in May and June, in sandy peat. Cuat- tings. Pretty Agathosma. (Agathosma pvil- chella.) Flowers in February and September, in peat andloam. Cut- tings. Long-leaved Hovea. (Hovea longi- Folia.) Flowers in June and Sep- tember, in sandy peat. Cuttings. Rosemary - leaved Hovea. ( Hovea rosmarinifolia.) Flowers in March and July, in sandy peat. Cuttings. | Linear-leaved Hovea. (Hovea linearis. Flowers in March and July, in sandy peat. Cuttings. Purple Hovea. (Hovea purpurea.) Flowers in March and July, in sandy peat. Cuttings. Wool-bearing Hovea. (Hovea lanigera.} Flowers in March and July, in sandy peat. Cuttings. Willow - leaved Crowea. ( Crowea saligna.) Flowers in July and De- cember, m sand, loam, and peat. Cuttings. Broad-leaved Crowea. (Crowea lati- folia.) Flowers in July, in sand, loam, and peat. Cuttings. PINK OR ROS. From one to three feet high. Jointed Bleria. (Bleria articulata.) Flowers in May and June, in sandy peat. Cuttings. Sprengelia-like Andersonia. (Ander- sonia sprengetioides.) Flowers in March and July, in sandy peat. Cuttings. Five-petaled Lysinema. (Lysinema pentapetalum.) Flowers in Feb- ruary and March, in loam and peat. Cuttings. Hairy-flowered Lysinema. (Lysinema lasianthum.) Flowers in February and May, in loam and peat. Cut- tings. Heath-like Helichrysum. (Helichry- sum ericoides.) Flowers in March and August, in commonloam. Cut- tings. Humble Aphelexis. (Aphelexis hu- milis.) Flowers in May and June, in sandy peat. Cuttings. One-flowered Adenandra. (Adenandre unifiora.) Flowers in April and July, in peat and loam. Cuttings. Showy Adenandra. (Adenandra spe- ciosa.) Flowers in April and July, in peat andloam. Cuttings. THE TREATMENT OF HEATHS. 89 Margined Adenandra. (Adenandra cupressina.) Flowers in June and marginata.) Flowers in March and July, in peat and loam. Cuttings. July, in peat and loam. Cuttings. Box-leaved Eriostemon. (Hriostemon Cypress-leaved Diosma. ( Diosma buxifolius.) Flowers in May, in peat and loam. Cuttings. From three to six feet high. Neat Epacris. (Epacris pulchelia.) | crispum.) Flowers in January and Flowers in April and June, in sandy August, in common loam. Cuttings. peat. Cuttings. Fragrant Adenandra. ( Adenanara Three-flowered Styphelia. (Styphelia fragrans.) Flowers in May and trifiora.) Flowers in May and Au- July, in peat and loam. Cuttings. gust, in sandy peat. Cuttings. Saw-leaved Baryosma. Baryosma ser- Broad-leaved Styphelia. (Styphelia ratifolia.) Flowers in March and latifolia.) Flowers in May and July, January, in peat and loam. Cut- in sandy peat. Cuttings. tings. Curled Helichrysum. (Helichrysum SCARLET. From one to three feet high. Trailing Astroloma. (Astroloma hu- | Henchmamnn’s Chorizema. (Chorizema mifusum.) Flowers in May and Henchmannii.) Flowers in April and October, in sandy peat. Cuttings. June, in sandy peat. Cuttings. Blunt-leaved Oxylobium. (Oxylobium obtusifolium.) From three to six feet high. Showy Correa. (Correa speciosa.) Flowers in April and July, in sandy _ Flowers in April and June, in sandy | peat. Cuttings. peat. Cuttings. Serulated Boronia. (Boronia serulata.) Pretty Correa. (Correa pulchella.) Flowers in June and July, in sandy peat. Cuttings. ORANGE. From one to three feet high. Retuse-leaved Oxylobium. (Oxylobium Flax-leaved Bossiwa. (Bossiea lino- retusum.) Flowers in April and May, phylla.) Flowers in June and Sep- in peat andloam. Cuttings. tember, in sand, loam, and peat. Pulteney’s Oxylobium. (Oxylobium Cuttings. Pulienea.) Fiowers in March, in Ovate-leaved Flat Pea. (Platylobium sandy peat. Cuttings. ovatum.) Flowers in January and Myrtle-leaved Eutoxia. Eutoxia myr- September, in sand, loam, and peat. tifolia.) Flowers in August, in sand, Seeds. loam, and peat. Cuttings. From three to six feet high. Beautiful Flat Pea. ( Platylobium September, in sandy peat. Cut- formosum.) Flowers in January and tings. August, in sandy peat. Seeds. Globe-flowered Liparia. ( Liparia Small-flowered Flat Pea. (Platylobium spherica.) Flowers in July and Au- parvifiorum.) Flowers in May and gust, in peat and loam. Cuttings. 90 THE HEATHERY. CRIMSON. From one to three feet high. Bloody Gnaphalium. (Graphalium sanguineum.) Flowers in May and July, in common loam. Seeds. From three to six feet high. Impressed Epacris. (Epacris im- | Tube-flowered Styphelia. (Styphelia pressa.) Flowers in April and July, tubifiora.) Flowers in May and in sandy peat. Cuttings. | August, in sandy peat. : Proiiferous Pheenocoma. (Phenocoma | Epacris-like Styphelia. ( Styphelia prolifera.) Flowers in August and epacroides.) Flowers in July and November, in sandy peat. Cut- August, in sandy peat. Cuttings. tings. | megan. 91 THE GERANIUM HOUSE. Tue late Mr. Colyelle was amongst the first who saw the propriety and adopted the practice of growing the Geraniacee in a house by them- selves. Since that time many have followed the example, and, judging from the fine specimens brought to the public plant exhibitions within these last three years, we are led to think that in no department of plant culture has such a rapid improvement been made as in that of Pelargo- niums. To grow these numerous and splendid plants to perfection, requires a separate house for themselves, and whoever has seen those of Hill, at Hammersmith, Cox, of Chiswick, and Gaines, of Battersea, as public cultivators, and those of Sir John Broughton, or R. Jenkinson, Esq., will admit, we think, that they richly deserve a house for them- selves. The Geraniacee have the following attractions, namely, they are easily kept, propagated, and flowered; they continue nearly the whole season in bloom; present almost infinite variety of colour and form, and are much better adapted for standmg in rooms uninjured than most other plants. New varieties are readily originated by cross impregnation, and these are readily increased by cuttings, the simplest of all modes of re-production. Ifthe majority of Pelargoniums are deficient in fragrance, nature has made up for that apparent deficiency, by the splendour of the blossoms ; and, as it were, to equalise her gifts, certain kinds whose flowers are less showy, nay, even of 2 dingy hue, have a delightful perfume ; some during the evening and night, and others when rubbed against, or when the wind lashes the leaves and branches against each other. Few genera of plants exhibit more fully the industry of the cultivator, or demonstrate more clearly the control he exercises in producing varieties, than in the case of the Geranium or Pelargonium. Hundreds of varieties, which are to be met with in the collections of florists, are the fruits of his ingenuity; for, however strange it may appear, it is a positive fact that not above a dozen true species are to be recog- nised amongst them. It is, therefore, now only in the strictly botanical collections that true species are to be seen, they having given place to sub-species originated by hybridizing. With the exception of three or four species, the whole of this splendid tribe, amounting to nearly three hundred recorded species, and above five hundred sub-varieties, have been 92 THE GERANIUM HOUSE. either introduced or originated in this country within the last fifty or sixty years. The term Pelargonium is derived from the Greek name for a stork’s bill, in allusion to the seed vessel, which resembles the beak of that bird : it was separated from the Geranium by the late learned Monsieur 1’ Héritier, as was the Erodium, which was formerly included under the general name of Geranium also ; for although we are in the very general habit of using the term geranium, geranium house, &c., when alluding to Pelargoniums, we must admit that this is an inaccuracy of expression which has nothing but habit to sanction it. The late excellent and learned Sir James Edward Smith appears to have entertained no very high opinion of hybrid varieties of this family. “This vast and favourite genus,” says he, ‘‘for which we are almost entirely indebted to the Cape!of Good Hope, consists of a number of well- marked species. But that number is greatly augmented in almost every book, by the admission of spurious hybrid species or varieties, which con- tinually start up from seed, wherever many of the primary ones are culti- vated, and are for a while propagated by cuttings and even by seed; sooner or later however, they, for the most part, vanish before the eyes of those who witnessed their origin.” Great confusion has arisen in botanical works, for which the authors are much to blame, in consequence of admitting sub-varieties of known hybrid production, and also by regis- tering many very doubtful ones in their works as species, for it must be allowed, that admitting them into works of science is replete with the greatest inconvenience. STRUCTURES CALCULATED FOR THE GROWTH OF GERANIACEZ. ~ Any ordinary greenhouse, not too lofty, and capable of being com- pletely ventilated, and situated in full exposure to the meridian sun, will answer very well for the culture of this tribe. But if a house were to be erected on purpose, one or other of the annexed figures, we should say, would be a perfect model. As the plants of this family require all the light, air, and sun, that our climate affords, it is necessary that the Geranium house should front the south, and be perfectly free from the shade of trees or buildings. A very complete Geranium house may be upon the same scale of size, and constructed as that recommended for a Heathery, and may be attached MOST APPROPRIATE HOUSES. G3 to it, thus forming a pretty range, which, in consequence of the plants being for the most part natives of the same country, will associate well together; or the Geranium house may be erected against the Camellia house, providing that the latter be detached from the dwelling house, and occupying the north aspect of a separate wall. One remark we shall here make respecting the erection of plant houses in which small plants are to be cultivated. Heaths, Geraniums, and most fine flowering greenhouse plants, should never be allowed to become old or large, as such plants, for the most part, do not flower so fine nor look so well, as young plants do. Houses of this description should be rather long and narrow, because in that case the plants are more within reach, and are much better seen than a = EO ns re mee ry, pes 94 THE GERANIUM HOUSE. when they are placed too far from the eye, which they often are when the house is either too lofty or too wide. In our estimation the last figure would be a very complete Geranium house, and would be an object both light and elegant in the flower garden if placed detached from other buildings, or it would be equally well placed, if more desirable, when attached to the dwelling by one of its ends. The height of such a house should not exceed seven feet over the foot paths, which will be sufficient to admit of a free passage; for the lower such houses are, the better, so that there be plenty of head room. The length of all plant houses must be determined by local circumstances ; but so far as heating is concerned, and we think it proper to mention that here, one fire, whether employed to heat a boiler of water or warm the smoke flues, (a) will heat a house of this width and height, above one hundred feet in length. A span-roofed house we prefer for geraniums, as the plants enjoy plenty of air, light, and solar infiuence, and are seen to great advantage. A span-roofed house, similar to that represented by the above section, if fifty feet in length, will contain nearly as many plants as one in the lean-to fashion of one hundred feet in length; and in regard to expense of erec- tion will be much less. In speaking of shading the most delicate heaths during the heat of summer, we would also recommend the same provision to be used for the geranium house, while the plants are in bloom. This expense will be amply remunerated by the greater length of time the plants will remain in bloom, and the richness of the colours of the flowers, which, if exposed to the full solar influence, would be very much injured. The upright lights over the parapet wails should be made to take out, as during a great part of the season they will be better removed, in order that a free circu- lation of air be permitted to pass through the house; but they should be replaced in stormy, windy weather. This mede of ventilation will render the opening the roof seldom necessary, guarding also against sudden showers of rain, which would be very injurious to the finest flowers. PROPAGATION AND TREATMENT WHILE YOUNG. Geraniums or, more properly, Pelargoniums, are very readily propagated by cuttings and seeds, and the tuberous-rooted sorts by cuttings or pieces of the roots. To have a succession of flowering plants all the year, some — attention should be paid to the period of flowering of different sorts, which PROPAGATION AND TREATMENT. 95 a reference to Loudon’s Hortus Britannicus, and also the period at which the cuttings are planted, will sufficiently indicate. The following routine we have been satisfied with following, viz., in August, at which period the earlier flowering kinds will have done flowering, the plants are cut down to within one or two eyes, if we may so speak; but which will be more intelligible if we say to within from an inch to half an inch of where the shoot sprung from, The shoots so taken off, are made into cuttings about six inches long, and cut close off below a joint, but the leaves should be left on, and not reduced in size, as is too often done. Each cutting is then planted im a pot of the size called large thumbs, and which are about two inches in diameter. They are then well watered, and plunged into a moderate hot-bed, kept close and well shaded, till they have begun to take root, when air is gradually admitted to them. The only care necessary during this part of their culture is to pick off all decayed leaves, to prevent the cuttings from rotting, to keep the tem- perature steady, but not too high, and above all to keep them shaded. In four or five weeks, cuttings so treated will require to be shifted into larger pots of the size known as thirty-twos, after which the plants may be placed in a cool, airy pit, or frame, but kept close to the glass to prevent their being drawn up weak and tail; or they may at once be arranged in the Geranium house. Plants so treated will fower in March if they are removed to the Geranium house before the setting in of severe frost. In September, another set of cuttings should be put in, of the sorts that go out of flower at that period; these will flower in May, and a third set of cuttings should be put in, in January, which will fiower from May to July ; and a fourth and last set in March, which will produce plants that, if kept cool during summer, and brought into the Geranium house in Sep- tember, will bloom during October, November, and part of December. The tuberous-rooted sorts are much less generally cultivated now than formerly, their flowers bearing no comparison to those of the half-shrubby kinds. Such may, however, be readily increased by planting pieces of the roots in smail pots, in a slight heat; leaving a small Lion of the top of the root above ground. On this subject, the following rational remarks are from the penof Mr. Appleby, in a communication in.the Horticultural Cabinet, Vol. V. p. 9. “During the growing season, they require watering pretty freely ; but as soon as they have done flowering, and their leaves begin to turn yellow, decrease the quantity of water gradually; the best method to do this, will be to water once in three days, then once a week, then once a fortnight, and lastly, once a month: by which time they will be completely at rest, a he 96 THE GERANIUM HOUSE. when no water must be given them till they begin to grow again, which may be looked for about February and March. When at rest, any situa- tion where they can be kept moderately dry and cool, will do for them: heat, light, and moisture being unnecessary.” ‘“‘ The best time to increase this section of Pelargoniums, is just before they begin to grow. Take off a small tuber or two, where they can be spared, from each plant, and put them into as small pots as they can be placed, just to cover them; place them in gentle heat, giving but little water till they begin to grow, when they may be removed amongst the established plants, and the ordinary culture given; they may also be in- creased by seed, which, however, they do not produce so freely as the shrubby species.” In regard to the species that have not been hybridized, of which P. bicolor, tricolor, ovatum, tetragonum, elatum, pendulum, fulgidum, elegans, &c., form a part, the above authority directs as follows: “ As they are all shrubby species, they require watering all the year, though always care- fully, for if the soil gets soddened with water for any length of time, it is in general fatal to the plants. They also require greenhouse treatment during winter and spring. In summer they should be placed out of doors in an open situation, screened from high winds, and set upon a bed of ashes so thick as to prevent worms from getting into the pots: keep them clear of weeds, tied up neatly, and regularly watered during dry weather. Pot them into larger pots when they require it; the best season for which operation is the month of April. 7 ‘‘ To propagate them, take youngish cuttings off about the month of May ; fit some bell or small hand glasses to such a number of pots as may be required ; fill them half full with broken potsherds, rough bits of turf, or anything that will permit the water to pass freely off; put in upon them as much of the compost,” [loam, peat earth, vegetabie soil, and sand, in equal proportions, which Mr. A. finds to be most proper for them,] “ as will fill the pots up to one inch of the rims, and fill up to the top with pure sand; then give a gentle watering, and insert the cuttings, giving more water to settle the sand close and firm tothem. When pretty dry, cover them with the glasses, and place them in a gentle heat; pot them off when struck, and keep them close and warm till they have struck root again; then give them the ordinary treatment, as to situation, air, watering, potting, and so forth.” Propagation of the large or ordinary sorts of Pelargoniums by seeds is seldom practised, excepting with a view to obtain new varieties ; and itis almost vain to attempt this, unless attention has been paid to artificial im- a, i! al TREATMENT IN THE HOUSE. 97 pregnation. Geranium seeds are best sown soon after they are ripe, pro- vided that does not happen after August, in which case it would be better to delay sowing till February or March. When the seeds are sown, they should be placed in a mild hot-bed, and regularly shaded till they have ve- getated; after which they should be accustomed to the sun and air to harden them previous to their being potted, which should be done when they are about an inch, or an inch and a half high; their treatment after this differs not from that of cuttings, only that they need not be topped with a view to form bushy plants, as it is not until they flower that their merits can be ascertained. Seedlings should however be stimu- lated, by being grown in very rich soil and oceasionally watered with liquid manure. GENERAL TREATMENT WHEN IN THE HOUSE. By the latter end of September, the Geraniums, if they have been placed out during the summer, should be arranged in their winter habi- tation, along with such as have heen recently propagated from cuttings. We would be understood here, however, as not advocating the practice of originating the whole collection of pelargoniums annually from cuttings, for we have found that most sorts flower well the second year, by follow- ing the simple routine of shaking the mould entirely away from such plants as have been cut down after flowering, re-potting them again in much smaller pots than those they flowered in, and placing them for a fortnight or three weeks in a close frame in which a slight bottom heat is maintained, until they begin to make fresh roots and break into young branches. After this they should be placed in a sheltered situation until the end of September, when they are removed into the Geranium house. During winter they should be supplied with air and water, and kept slowly growing until February, when they should be shifted into pots at least two sizes larger than those they have stood in during winter. . From this time until they begin to come into flower, their growth should be encouraged by allowing them plenty of room on the shelves or stages, supplying them with an abundance of air and water, and turning them frequently round, so that all sides of the plants may enjoy an equal share of light and sun. If kept too close, or too far from the glass, Geraniums are liable to grow up weak, and in that case seldom flower fine: they are also liable, in that case, to be attacked by the green-fly, which must be removed upon its first H a =a — = eS 98 THE GERANIUM HOUSE. appearance by the application of tobacco smoke from the fumigating bellows. They are not subject to any other diseases. We are aware that this is not the practice followed by the most eminent growers of this splendid tribe, but we recommend it to such as, from a variety of circumstances, have neither the convenience nor skill to bring on an annual supply. The plants originated from cuttings planted in August, and treated as directed above, may, when potted into thirty-two sized pots, be placed in the Geranium house, or if they be keptin a cool, airy pit or frame, they need not be removed till the beginning of November : at all events, at whatever period they are brought in, it is essential that they be placed as near to the glass as possible, and abundantly supplied with air, and not set too closely together. All rambling shoots, and such as appear to grow too fast, should be pinched off, for the future habit of the plant depends cn its treatment at this period. Most young plants have a tendency to send up one leading shoot, which often attains a considerable height before sending out lateral branches. A plant allowed to run so, can never after- wards be brought into a handsome form, and if the formation of the plant be not set about when young, it cannot be done afterwards without sacri- ficing the flowers, which lie in embryo in the points of the shoots that would in that case be cut off. One of the greatest faults in the ordinary mode of cultivating Geraniums is, allowing them to run up tall and naked at the bottom; when such a course is followed, the plants will neither flower well nor look so handsome. The greenhouse kinds of Geraniacez, though nearly all natives of the Cape of Good Hope, are much less hardy than the family of Erica from the same country; this may be accounted for in various ways ;—soft- wooded or succulent plants are more liable to be injured by frost, than -hard-wooded plants from the same latitudes, their exterior skin or outer bark being very thin, and their juices extremely abundant. Again, most of the family Erica are indigenous to the mountains, while most of the Geraniums are inhabitants of the plains, thus proving that altitude is as much to be studied in calculating the comparative degree of hardiness in plants, as latitude. | “We know,” says Mr. M‘Nab, “ from undoubted authority, that certain species of Cape Geraniacez, and certain species of Erica, grow together in the same kind of soil and in the same situation, intermixed one with the other in their native country; but we know that in this country the same species of heaths will bear a degree of cold with impunity, which TREATMENT IN THE HOUSE. 99 will materially injure, and in many cases kill the Pelargoniums growing beside them. “To grow Cape Ericez and Geraniacez well together, would require far nicer management than I profess to be acquainted with. I know, how- ever, that heaths will bear a degree of cold in the greenhouse in winter, (which, I am persuaded, is beneficial to their health), that will materially injure Cape Geraniacee. If therefore a particular point is to be found, to which the thermometer may be allowed to sink in the inside of a greenhouse during a severe frost, which will preserve the Geraniacee from injury, and not produce too much heat for the safety of the heath, it is one which I have never been able to ascertain. “Tf am speaking however of these two families so as to have them in ‘a high state of perfection. They may be both kept in the same house so as to make a tolerable appearance; but, I believe not in such a state of | perfection as if they were in separate houses; for the fire heat which is absolutely necessary during severe frost for the one, is, as far as my obser- vation goes, sure to be in some degree injurious to the other.” Most of the true Cape species are much hardier than the English hybrids, for many of the former, particularly the tuberous-rooted kinds, stand in the open borders of this country during winter, while none of the latter, so far as we know, have ever been found to do so. The same degree of cold that would not injure the most tender Erica, would be fatal to the whole tribe of hybrid Geraniums. During winter, frost must be excluded by covering the Geranium house with canvass, or by the application of artificial heat from the fire, either through smoke flues or hot water pipes, so as to keep the temperature from falling below thirty two degrees, but it should by no means be allowed to rise by the same means to forty degrees ; a higher temperature during the day and by sun heat is quite a different thing. On the general treatment of Pelargoniums, we find the following com- munication of Mr. Appieby, in Vol. V., p. 55 of Horticultural Cabinet, so replete with good sense and practical skill, that we cannot do better than give the quotation almost at length. “The season to take Geraniums into the greenhouse depends upon the weather ; and as all Cape plants are much healthier, and flower more freely - the more they are exposed to the full air, so long as frosts keep off, I delay the taking them in: in fact, this last segson, I did not house them generally until the middle of October. Choice kinds I have covered up with mats or large sheets of canvass, elevated on stakes, on such nights as are likely to be frosty. ol 100 THE GERANIUM HOUSE. ‘“‘ Perhaps no months in the whole year are so unhealthy for Geraniums as November and December, for the weather generally is dark, damp, and rainy, and the plants being full of sappy green leaves, and having received a check from new potting, are often shedding leaves, which I con- stantly remove, or they would become mouldy and give out a bad smell, offensive both to the owners and to the plants themselves.’ At all times during the day I give as much air as possible, by opening the doors, windows, ventilators, &c. In the mornings I have a fire made to dry up damp, but allow it to go out before the house is shut up, for the remedy would be worse than the disease: close heat at this season being most injurious. ‘“‘ During the severity of winter, fire is necessary to keep out the frost, (when very severe both day and night), but I am careful not to create damp by watering more than is absolutely necessary. It often happens on frosty days, that the sun shines clear and bright, and though the atmo- sphere is frosty, I always give air to lower the temperature of the house, to admit fresh, and to dry up damps. ‘“‘In January I scrape off the top soilof the pots, and have such as are green with moss well washed, picking all decayed leaves, trimming off any awkward branches on large plants, and tying up all that require it, and then having at hand some light rich soil, I fill up the pots, and finally give a good watering. “‘ As the season advances they will generally begin to show flower buds, and as soon as I observe this, I consider they require potting, especially those in the small pots struck in July; this will generally happen about the middle or end of March; but such as do not show flower, I do not re-pot, as that would encourage growth rather than flowering. “In the spring months too much air cannot be given, and in con- sequence more water is required, which I bestow very liberally: frequently syringing over the whole plants, which refreshes them and prevents in- sects injuring them, though no kind of insects particularly affects the Geranium, if I except the green-fly, which is easily destroyed by tobacco smoke. When the flowering season is over, and I do not want the plants for the flower garden, I cut them down, and as the sap will fiow out of the wounds, no water is given until the bleeding stops. If they are in too large pots, I shake them out, cut off part of the roots, and put them into less pots, which is a sort of renewal of the plants. I take them out of doors as soon as I think the frosts are over, to some place sheltered from the sun and west winds, setting them thinly upon a bed of coarse coal ashes two or three inches thick. During summer, I give water TREATMENT OUT OF DOORS. 101 when it is required, and keep them clear of weeds, and when I observe that they make roots through the holes at the bottom of the pots, I shift them into a fresh place, which is all the care they require until the autumn arrives, when they are sheltered from the frost in the green- house or in pits.” GENERAL TREATMENT WHEN OUT OF DOORS. Geraniums should only be placed in the open air after they have done flowering. The situation most proper for them, is a dry, airy, exposed place; where they may enjoy the full influence of the sun. During the period of their remaining in this situation, they should be regularly sup- plied with water, and precaution taken to prevent worms from entering into the pots. The best preventive for this, is to water the ground between the pots now and then with lime water, or any water in which alkali has been dissolved. The more common varieties, or such as there may be duplicates of, when done flowéring in the Geranium house, will, if turned out of the pots and planted in the borders of the flower garden, flower again through the autumnal months, and may afterwards be either taken up, their branches cut down to within about an inch of the point they issued from, potted, and kept im a cold pit for next summer flowering. If not wanted for this purpose they may be thrown away. SOIL. The Geraniacee require a light rich soil to grow them to perfection ; that composed of one half very rotten dung and rich light loam, will be found to answer every purpose. Young plants will grow rapidly in decayed leaves having a little sand mixed with them ; but to bring plants to that perfection that will enable them to expand flowers of their full size, a little stronger soil is required. Some of the London nurserymen have grown excellent geraniums in a compost of night soil, street sweepings, &c., which has been sweetened, as it is termed, by being ex- posed to the weather for a year or two, and frequently turned over. To enrich any otherwise good light loam, bone dust, malt dust, yeast, or any similar stimulant may be used. Geraniums have been grown tolerably well, planted in moss, various species of hypnum, &c., but in Ee —————EeE 102 THE GERANIUM HOUSE. such a medium they require abundance of water. This latter method may be all well enough for plants intended to be brought into the drawing room to flower; but for the production of the best class of flowers a rich light loamy soil is required. WATER. During winter Geraniums must not be over-watered, as that would have a tendency to create damp, which would be extremely injurious to them, and should be guarded against by all possible means, such as free ventilation, occasional heat being thrown into the flues during the day, so that the superfluous moisture or damp may be allowed to pass off in the shape of steam, and above all, taking care not to spill water unnecessarily while applying it to the plants. During spring, while they are growing, and during the period of flowering, they can hardly have too much water, so that the pots are drained in a proper manner to allow of its passing through. It is not well, however, to place the pots in pans of water at any time, neither is it necessary to apply water over their tops with the engine at any period, particularly during winter. SHIFTING OR POTTING. The season for potting Geraniums depends upon circumstances. Those that are propagated annually from cuttings, and intended to flower the Same season, can have no stated period of shifting, as that entirely depends on the progress they make in rooting. For, to grow them in the first degree of excellence, they must be shifted into larger pots as soon as their roots have fully extended to the outside of the ball, and this process must be followed up till they have been placed in the pots in which they are to flower. At each removal they must be carefully taken from one pot to the other; the ball left unbroken, and the roots undisturbed, else the plants would sustain a considerable check. Geraniums grown in the more ordinary manner are shifted, as has been already observed, soon after they are cut down after flowering, and placed in smaller pots in which they are to stand during the winter: again, in February or March they are to be re-potted into the sized pots in which they are to produce their flowers. Draining and the routine of potting has already been sufficiently TREATMENT OUT OF DOORS. 103 noticed under the article Erica, and requires no separate remark here farther than to observe, that as Geraniums are, during their growing season, to be supplied with abundance of water, it is necessary that great precaution be taken in draining the pots well. The following engraving represents the kind of cutting best adapted for It is taken off by passing the forming g vigorous and handsome plant. knife right through a joint, where the root fibres are always found: the eutting itself should contain five or six joints. ANY \ HN And di WHITE, With red or purple lines or spots. Beal, ae Ada . -. 10 0to20 Alba multiflora - 5 0-10 Albion (L) : - 7 6—15 Bella Donna (R) . 3 6—10 Bellissima (R) - 10 O20 Brightoniensis . 1 Brightianum . : 1 Cecilia 3 - 5 0—10 Charles X. ; 1 Countess of Plymouth @) 2 Cupid 5 0—10 Duchess of Clar ence, new 2 Duchess of Gloucester . 1 Fosterianum . : 2 Hiul’s Champion 2 Imogene (P) 3 King of Whites 3 6—7 Lucidum 1 6—2 Margaretta 2 6— 3 Martineau (Miss) 5 0—10 Mattocksianum 2 Modestum 5 0—10 Monsonia 5 0—10 Mont Blanc 3 6—7 _QOxoniensis . 2 Pictum : 10 0—20 Princianum 1 6— 2 Queen of Whites 2 6—5 Queen Bess 7 0—10 Sylvia 7 O—10 BLUSH, With red or purple lines and spots. Albidum (D) . - 1 62 Anna Maria (D) : 1 Amelia(D) ~~. - 8&8 65 Betsy (D) - Lt 62 Captain Cook . 2 Diversum i 3 6— 7 Habranthum . 2 6—10 Lady Anne Bingham (D) 1 Maid of Athens (F) i 15 SELECT LIST OF PELARGONIUMS. DHAHOOAIAHSDAA 104 LILAC. Different shades. s Amesbury (R). 1 Don Quixote (D) a Inscriptum grandifiorum 2 Lauretta (Dy raat Obovatum (D). aa | PINK, With red or purple lines or spots. Adansoni (D) . Ann of Cleves. in, ee Britannia (8S) 2 Diadimatum Helen Mar Incarnation superb, beautiful : . 4 Lavinia z ; Levely Anne . ove Maid of Athens Miss Annesley Optimus Sweetianum Germanicum Soowono Nr ww WO Oh © ROSE. Dark purple lines or spots. Abietinum 5 2 6—5 Adelinze 2 5 010 Amabile superb 2 6—5 Angelina : +2 24 b— 5 Diomede(H) . - 38 6—10 Don Juan ; - ds O0—10 Don Roderick . Dulcinea, new (D) 5 0—10 Duchess of Sutherland . : mil Flora M“Donala (C) : 1 Flower Ball ,(D) - 2 65 Francesea s - 10 O—20 Gazelle 4 - 3& 610 cocoons PQOCSROAD KRWANDO VBPOSAMMOOOCEOOOSSO SELECT LIST. Cae, ee Rae Gem . - 7 615 0 Imperatum maximum . 2 6—5 0 Insuperabile - 10 O—20 0 Incarnatus (G) 2 6 Jack of Newbury (S) 1 6—2 6 Julius Cxsar . 2 65 0 Magniflorum (8S) * 6 Megalanthum . Pe Midas 3 6—5 0 Norbiton Hero 3 6—5 0 Paniculatum @) 2 6—5 0 Peelii 1 62 6 Phoenix (R) 1 6&2 6 Pixcy Queen . 10 0—20 0 Pulcherrimum (G) 2 6—5 0 Queen of Roses (D) i & Robin Hood . 5 0—10 0 Regium novum : ce Rembrandt ~- . - 10 020 0 Rosinante : - 38 610 0 Rosette 5 0—10 0 Rhododendron, flowered 2 6—5 0 Rousianum . 5 0—10 0 Rosomond 2 6—5 0 Rosalie : 2 6—5 0 Rosa (H) a 2 6—5 0 Rosa Mundi (D) 3 6—10 0 Sancho Panza . 3 6—10 0 Sir John Broughton @) 5 0—10 0 Sophia 2 6—5 0 Sphinx 3 6—5 0 Statira - 2 6—5 0 Tam O’Shanter, fine eye 10 0—20 0 Timandra : 2 6 Thumbergianum = TSS, Virginius (C) . 1 6—2 6 Vulneratum . - 2 65 0 Wheelerii E - 5 O10 O VERY BRIGHT ORANGE. Large black or velvety spot. Aladdin 5 010 0 Astarte 20 0 Dennis’ Queen Adelaide 2 6—3 6 Prince of Orange 3 6—10 0 2 6—5 0 Queen of Sheba RED OR SCARLET. Shaded with bright orange, dark purple lines or spots. Filigree : sae Gainsianum (G) eo» tom Lord Brougham Linea © 3 Ne Plus Ultra (D) 1 Perfectum (R). AARHOMODS RR LT RC LE I CC CC I ee TE Ea en tnt ea re benny ete er 105 $: 2:53 = Quadrifiorum . 2 8 Red Rover 1 6 Willmoreanum FT +S OAK LEAVED, RED OR SCARLET. Dark lines or spots. Nutans ~ ¥F 63 @ Quercifolium superbum 1 6—2 6 Othelio : 2 6 Eminent 1 6 Fire King ae BRIGHT SCARLET. Shaded with light or dark crimson; very dark or black spots or lines. Adonis 2 6 Bellianum, or ‘Mackie’s Seedling . -3°6—3°8 Brilliant 1 6 Chasse 3 67 @ Flexuosum 2 6 Tsedorianum . 7 010 0 King of eas 5 0-10 0 Lucifer . &s 6&7 O Memnon é . 5 010 0 Meteor (R) 2 2 6-5 0 Nimrod (R) . 2 6—5 6G Perdita Z 7 6—15 06 Phebus . 3 6-7 @ Rouge et Noir 10 0—20 0 Wellington 10 0—20 0 ——= VERY FINE LARGE RED, With black lines or spots. Admiral Nelson (8) ‘ 2 6 Admiral Napier (C) -- 2 6 Amandum 2 ‘ 2 6 Atalanta - 10 020 0 Bancho 3 6—-7 0 Banksianum grandiflorum 5 0—10 0 Brassicoides . 5 0-10 0 Bonaparte : 5 0—10 0 Clarissianum (D) ‘ 1 6 Concessum oe, Gece Dictator 10 0—20 @ Elegans (F) 2 6—5 @ Emperor of the West 20 0-40 0 Flagrans (D) . 2 1 0 General Moore . 26-5 0 Hector . 3 6—10 0 Henry VIII. (D) - 38 6&7 O Hercules superb 40 9 106 ae Honorabile . - 2 65 Imperatum perfectum . 2 6—5 Man of Ross . : 1 Mary Stuart . - 1 6—2 Mirabile major - 2 6—5 Miller’s Victory ; I Oscar - 15 0—20 Paragon, Beautiful . 40 0—60 Parker’s Triumph - 10 O—20 PERFECTION (D) - 5 O20 Queen of Scots (M) : 1 Rubra compacta 3 6—7 Sesostris (P) 2 6—5 Zohrab 2 0-3 PURPLE. - Dark lines or spots. Albion (C) : ; 2 Capitatum superb : 20 Colleyanum : 1 Fusco superb . - 1 Lydia : - 10 O—20 Veitchianum : 1 LARGE CRIMSON. Very dark shades. Belvidere (J) 2 6—5 Black Rover . 20 Cicero ; 5 0—10 Elvira (H) : 3 6—7 Lord Denman . 2 6—5 Maria Louisa . 1 6— 2 Superbissimum 1 Succulentum 1 CRIMSON PURPLE, With white, scarlet, or black marks lines. Black Prince (G) : ; 1 Catesbianum . 38 6—10 Cecium ~ & 0—10 Calamistratum: (D) : 1 Conspicuum (D) : 2 Descendens . - 3 Don Juan (J) . - 10 O—20 Kuterpe - 10 O—20 General Washington . 5 O—10 Humei grandifiora(D) . 3 6—5 Hericartianum . & 67 MOOMRCSCSCOROAMCO-™ AHOKMKHON AARDRDOOCOCSOS or on ono on oy Nor li =r) THE GERANIUM HOUSE. ie ae" 2 La Blache . - 20 O40 Miranda 5 0—10 Purpurea coerulea 3 6—7 Smith’s Queen Adelaide 2 Weltjianum (W) 1 CLOUDED OR OBSCURED, With dark purple or black. African | ; es Brunette ie. | Champion of Dey on nn te Curate : : Eldoniz Exquisite (K) . Heroine Jenkinsonii superb (D) . Lord Ebrington (D) Obscurum grandiflorum Pullum : Yeatmanianum grandi- florum (D) . = bo bo lO tO ©) DO G2 Or bo Or wo r ro) AQ DOARMAAMVWOANSO 2 6—3 Upper petals nearly approaching black, with paler lower petals. King’s Psyche 3 6—7 Marginatum . 1 6—2 Olympicum . - 2 65 Pullaceum 5 0—10 Smut. 3 2 Bright rose red. Glaucopis - : 2 Lady Denbigh - 5 0-15 Lord Munster (R) . 2 Poiteanum : : 2 Roselaide 2 Dark rose red. Hero (R) : js 2 Kermesinum . : 2 Lord Hill (fine) - 5 O15 Media : . 2 65 Penneyanum . Z 2 Van Huysen (A) . 2 63 Anooo™ to CAInoon HOo°om AQAA SELECT LIST. 107 Dark and purple, shaded red. §. Gs) 8. Augustissimum superbum 3 6— ' Fulminans : : OO ONT et et ay oooanOS Grandissima . Pavoninum maximum. 3 6— Proteanum | 2 0— 2 6— Serviciz VARIOUS. Me w® bias bo OL S© OF bh DS OT HO Or Bipinnatifidum Echinatum : Maculatum sanguineum Quinquevulnerum Sanguineum Schizopetalum ‘ Speculum Mundi ha Venulum sanguineum. 2 Vespertinum : ~— AOOCAROHOS To these may be added the following, varying in price from 1s. to ls. 6d. They generally continue in flower from April to September, and vary in height from one to five feet. Affine, orange rose Albiflora, white Albinotatum or Favourite Purple, purple Angelina, white and dark spots - Ardens major, deep scarlet Ascyrum, light rose Atrorubens, purple Augustum, pale pink and spot Bagshot Park Seedlings, red and blush Bethelina, pink and rose Bicolor, purple crimson Bishoppe, deep scarlet Boyleze or Countess of Cork, white striped | Broughtonee, orange scarlet Brown’s Princess Augusta, rose purple Chrysanthemifolia, deep pink Citriodorum, white and spots Cleopatra superba, white striped Commander-in-Chief, blush and spots Concolor, purplish pink Concolor major, purple rose Coronata, purple . Coronation, white and stripes Corruscans, purple striped Coutsiz, light rose Cupid, pink and blush Daveyanum, dark crimson Decorum, orange red and spots Defiance, light scarlet Dependens, white blotched Diversilobum, light rose Duchess of Kent, lilac pencilled Duchess of St. Alban’s, white & stripes Echinatum, white and spots Eximium or Catherine Stuart, blush Fairliex, lilac and white Feronia, deep rose and crimson Flammula, rose and pink Flexuosum, deep scarlet _ Floccosum, purplish pink Foliacea, orange scarlet Foliacea major, orange scarlet Foliosum, purple Formosum, white and stripes Fuscifiorum, purple General Riego, dark rose Georgiana, paie pink Glaucum, white Grandidentatum, white stripes Grandiflorum, white and stripes Grandiflorem minor, white and spots Grandifiorum purpurea, purple lilac Graveolens or Rose Scented, lilac Graveolens, Striped Leaved, lilac Hammerslei, light rose Helen, blush and crimson spots Heselrigii or Lord Cochrane, dark purple Hibiscifolium, light rose Humei, dark rose purple Fiusseyanum, pink lilac Ignescens, scarlet Ignescens major, scarlet and spot Incurvum, orange scarlet Ingram’s Princess Royal, dark purple Involucratum, white and stripes Jenkinsoni, white and dark spots Lady Essex, pink and stripes Lady Rowden, pink striped Lady Stamford, pale pink and spots Lanceolatum, white and spots Lanfordiz, white striped . Latifolium, rose Latilobum, scarlet and stripes Leopold, pale pink lilac Lord Combermere, purplish rose Lord Lyndoch, fine rose Macranthon, white and stripes Majestum, purple Marshall’s Duke of York, lilac striped Marshall’s Oldenburgh, blush striped and purple 108 THE GERANIUM HOUSE. Matilda, rose and pink Mattocksianum, white and spots Megaleion or De Vere, rose Memnon, rose Moreanum or More’s Victory, deep scarlet Mucronatum, pink and stripes Murreyanum, light purple Nairnii or Anne Boleyn, pink and rose Oblatum or Emily, pale pink Obscurum, white and dark spots Optabile, white and stripes Palkii, purple crimson Pansiana, lilac and purple Pavoninum, pink and spots Planifolium, light rose Potteri superba, orange scarlet Prince of Orange, blush and spots Princess Charlotte, rose purple Pulcherrimum, light purple Quinauereinaratas v eee purple Ramigerum or Paul Pry, rose striped Rhodanthum, deep pink Rowena, lilac Royal Purple, dark rose purple Rubescens or Lady Liverpool, pale pink Rugosum, purple Scarboroviz, white striped Scutatum C., white and stripes Seymourei, purple Shakspeare, deep rose and pink Sir Walter Scott, pale pink Smithii, light rose and pink Spectabile, light rose Spectabile azureum, purplish pink Spectabile maculatum, light spotted Spectabile purpureum, purplish rose Spectabile striatum, tight striped Spectabile villosum, light rose 109 THE CAMELLIA HOUSE. THe Camellia House, which, besides this splendid genus of flowering plants, might contain the magnificent Nepal Rhododendrons, the best varieties of tender English hybrids, as weil as the Chinese Magnolias, whose rich perfume would amply make up for the absence of fragrance in the two former genera, as well as some other plants of kindred habits. Of the genus Camellia, there are in this country at present, six species, and above two hundred varieties ; and the collections of these plants on the continent are still more extensive. We have seen in one collection alone, that of M. Makoy, of Liege, in Belgium, above two hundred and twenty varieties of greater or less merit ; and in the collection of M. Parmentier, - of Enghien, in the same country, no less than four hundred varieties. There appears to be at present quite a mania on the continent for increas- ing the number of varieties of this plant, and in this, as in most similar cases, many varieties scarcely differ from each other, certainly not so much as to induce us to recommend above one third of the number for general purposes. Few plants are more easily cultivated than the Camellia, particularly when they are grown in a house by themselves; and few plants are so universally admired. Many persons are, we believe, deterred from cul- tivating Camellias from an erroneous supposition that they require the accommodation of a conservatory or greenhouse, and cannot be grown without ;—than this, nothing is more absurd, for not only can Camellias be cultivated in great perfection in pits or frames, protected merely by the glass lights ; and occasionally, in the most severe weather, by a mat thrown over them ; but they are also found to thrive exceedingly well when planted out in a warm and well-sheltered border, or shrubbery ; without any pro- tection whatever excepting a little dry fern, moss, or litter, laid over the ground in which they are planted. Certainly, to have Camellias in the first degree of excellence they should be kept in a glass house, but that they will flower and grow well in the open air, in favourable situa- tions, is also certain; and the day may not be far distant when the Camellia will be found as much the ornament of our shrubberies as the Pyrus japonica, Corchorus japonica, Ancuba japonica, and other plants from the same country, and which were all within our recollection, treated 110 THE CAMELLIA HOUSE. as greenhouse plants, although experience has long ago taught us that they are as hardy as any plant in our shrubberies. Of the plants possessing sufficient beauty or fragrance to be admitted into this description of house along with the Camellia, we may mention, Nerium Oleander, and its splendid varieties, [Wlicium floridanum, Daphne odora, Luculia gratissima, Magnolia fuscata, &c. And as scandent plants, to be trained up under the rafters of the roof, we would recommend Ken- nedya, various species, Wistaria chinensis, Caprifolium japonicum, Tecoma grandiflora, Passiflora Loudonii et kermesina, Jasminum grandifiorum, &c. A house so furnished, would be sufficiently interesting throughout the year, and never without blossom, or the most delightful fragrance. Such a house, perhaps, does not exist; but we cannot surely be accused of extra- vagance in anticipating: such an event, when we consider the rapid strides that the principles of order and taste are making amongst the followers of Flora ; and when these principles are understood along with the practice of Floriculture, we shall see houses arranged according to the rules laid down in the foregoing pages. STRUCTURES CALCULATED FOR THE GROWTH OF CAMELLIAS. THE varieties of Camellia, of which there are many, are found indigenous in the tea districts of China and Japan, in a temperature by no means high, and sometimes falling even below the freezing point. The varieties originated in this country, of which there are many, are equally hardy; and in many situations they have been found to thrive exceedingly well when planted in the open borders. The plants which agree with them in culture, and enumerated previously as being proper inmates of the same house, are equally hardy, and have also been found to resist the cold of our ordinary winters, when planted in favourable situations. Protection merely from intense frosts, is all that is required artificially, to preserve these plants; but to have them flower at an early period of the season, which appears to accord with their natural period of blooming, it is neces- sary that they be placed under the protection of a giass house. - The situation and aspect which will suit the Camellia and its allies, may be of a description which would by no means suit the section last treated of. There is no doubt but that these plants will thrive in houses having a southern exposure, but that they will also succeed in those having an op- posite exposure, is sufficiently demonstrated in practice. A Camellia house, therefore, may be erected without especial regard to that particular. It THE CAMELLIA HOUSE. 111 is, however, at the same time necessary, that the situation be not shaded by buildings or high trees, nor placed in too low and damp a situation. The accompanying diagrams will explain what we consider to be the best form of houses adapted for this section of plants, that is to say, if such are to be built expressly for the purpose. The first may be erected against the north wall either of a dwelling house or greenhouse already existing. In such case, a communication should be made between them, either at the centre, or at both ends: by this means, the party wall will serve for two houses. If the erection be against the dwelling house it will be convenient to have a door of communication, to admit of access in wet weather, and for the greater convenience of the owner at all seasons. The Camellia house may, with great propriety, be placed behind the Heath house, all other circumstances being favourable. An arrangement of this sort will save space and expense, while it must be admitted to be the most convenient in many other respects. A glance at the annexed figure will explain that the platform in front, - over the flue, is intended for small plants, while the platform behind, which should be raised to the height of about from six to twelve inches, is intended for the larger specimens. Camellias, Rhododendrons, &c., unlike most other greenhouse exotics, increase in value as they increase in size, therefore plenty of room should be allowed them in the house, so that all sides of the plants may present a perfect outline. The next view represents a span-roofed house, a species of greenhouse to which we are partial, as it admits of more light and space, with less brickwork, and is, upon the whole, more economical in the erection than most other 112 THE CAMELLIA HOUSE. forms of equal convenience and capacity. The raised platform which occupies the middle of the house, and is about six inches or a foot above the level of the floor, is intended for the plants to stand on, in the order in which they are represented in the annexed sketch. The flue at a, which passes along the centre of the said platform, is placed there for precaution only, as, if the roof be covered as recommended in the case of the Heathery, no frost will reach the plants to injure them. We may here remark that much more harm is done to all greenhouse exotics by the application of too much fire heat, than by the opposite extreme. A narrow shelf runs round the house, on which the smallest plants are to be set. In regard to the height of a Camellia house, that must be determined by the size of the plants intended to be cultivated; and as it cannot be conveniently altered after the first erection, it will be better to elevate the platform to a sufficient height to suit the plants while they are small, and to lower it progressively as they advance in height. Vw _U WT PROPAGATION AND TREATMENT WHEN YOUNG. The Camellia is propagated by cuttings, seeds, budding, grafting, inarch- ing, and sometimes by laying. The single red variety is propagated by cuttings, layers, and seeds; the two former, for stocks on which to bud or inarch the better kinds, and by seeds, with a view to procure new varieties. In propagating by cuttings, the month of August has been found to be PROPAGATION BY CUTTINGS. EFS the proper season, and the shoots selected for this purpose should be well ripened, and of the preceding summer’s growth ; younger shoots than these are apt to damp off, and older ones require a much longer period to form roots, and often fail to do so entirely. he best situation for them is a cold frame, merely covered with the lights and shaded from the sun, excluding the air as much as possible until they have begun to make roots, when it should be admitted to them gradually until they can stand both the full force of the sun and air without flagging. Upon a large scale, the cuttings may be set in the bed, in a preparation made for them of half peat and half light loam, dibbled in pretty thickly, and the mould made firm round their stems. And upon a smaller scale, they may be planted in pots, or deep pans, properly drained, and filled with the same mould as above. Towards the following March or April, they will be forming roots, which will be indicated by their making young shoots; at this period their growth will be very much forwarded if they be placed in a gentle heat and kept pretty moist; the atmosphere of a common cucumber bed, but with considerably less heat, will suit them well. There will be no difficulty in removing such as are in pots, but those that are planted in the mould in the pit, must be taken carefully up, potted, and placed in their proper situation. By the middle of summer the most forward will be in a fit state for potting into single pots, and the more tardy by October or November. The most usual method of propagating by cuttings is to select them from plants of the single red variety, which is thought to strike sooner, and with greater certainty than the double varieties. Some cul- tivators, however, maintain a different opinion, and assert that double sorts may be raised by cuttings as successfully as the single ones, and also that plants originated from double sorts make as good and as lasting specimens as those originated from the single ones, a circumstance we see no reason to doubt, although such is not generally acknowledged. _ The following routine has been found very successful in striking double- _ flowered Camellias from cuttings. Cuttings of the previous year’s growth _are selected in March, and cut off exactly at the junction of the wood with that which is a year older. The soil used is sandy peat, and the cuttings are placed round and close to the edges of the pots. Bell glasses — aré placed over them, and the pots are plunged about half their depth in a mild bottom heat. They are kept in this state until they have pushed and completed their first growth, when they are removed to a vinery, or similar temperature during the winter. ‘The young cuttings are - I 114 THE CAMELLIA HOUSE. planted off into small pots about the end of January, or the beginning of February, after which they are placed in a temperature of from sixty five to seventy degrees till about the beginning of June, when they are fit for removal into the Camellia house or greenhouse. PROPAGATION BY SEEDS. Seeds should be sown as soon as they are fully ripe, or imported, in pots filled with peat and loam, and placed in a cool pit, from which frost is excluded. They require about two years to come up, after which they should be treated exactly as cuttings. Seeds of the Camellia are sometimes imported from China and Japan ; these require along period to germinate, and some of them, like many other similar seeds from India, frequently lose their vegetative properties entirely, before they arrive in this country. It has been suggested, that if seeds so situated were immersed in oxalic acid, or folded up in a cloth moistened with that acid, germination would be accelerated; but they should not remain longer in the acid than the moment germination has commenced, when they should be sown in pots in mould prepared for them. An anonymous contributor to the Horticultural Cabinet observes, “I have paid some attention to raising seedlings, and have been most amply repaid by some very handsome and peculiarly striking varieties. My practice is to study which admixture of two sorts are likely to produce the most striking distinct colours, and to impregnate accordingly. I apply the farina by means of a camel hair pencil, and for a fortnight afterwards do not allow any water to fall upon the flowers. I have uniformly found my seedlings to take the habit of growth of the parent sort each individual plant partook most of in colour, whether of the male or female. > “] usually force the Camellias under my charge, so that they bloom from September till April, thus having opportunity of impregnating early in spring, which I generally do in February, or March ; by this means I get the seeds well ripened. When the seed is ripe, I retain it n its capsul till the following February, when | sow it in small pots filled with light sandy loam, and place it in moist heat. When the plants are a few inches high, I pot them singly into small pots, being careful to have them well drained with broken potsherds. After keeping the plants in PROPAGATION BY GRAFTING. 115 the moist heat fora fortnight, I remove them into a vinery, and gradually inure them unto the green house temperature.” Plants so originated are sometimes permitted to grow on till they fiower, when, if the variety be considered not of sufficient merit to be kept as such, they may then be used as stocks on which to bud or inarch the other good kinds. Camellia. stocks can never be too large; for if they wete even several feet high and furnished with several branches, each of these could be operated upon, and consequently a large plant would be produced in a short time. It is rarely that any shade of difference follows plants originated from seeds, unless artificial fecundation has been strictly attended to. PROPAGATION BY GRAFTING, Is very frequently adopted, particularly when the sorts intended to be increased do not already exist in the same collection. This process is best accomplished wher done in spring, about the period when the plants begin to grow. The kind of grafting most generally practiced is side- gratting, which is one of the most common in use, and therefore requires no elucidation, further, than as the stocks are often weak, clay should not be used, as the quantity necessary would be too weighty for the stock to carry. A little fine moss, kept rather damp, will be a good substitute, and the grafting wax of the French may be here used to advantage. It tends considerably to insure success in this process, if the end of the graft or scion be left a few inches longer than where the union is intended to take place, so that its end may be immerged in a phial of water, or stuck into a small potatoe, or turnip. From either of these sources the graft will derive nourishment until it is supplied from the stock. Side grafting is so called from being performed on the side of the stock, and differs little from whip, or tongue grafting, which latter is that in general use in nurseries upon plants generally. In side grafting, the bark and a little of the wood of the stock is taken off in a slanting direction, _ the lower end of the scion is also cut, so as to fit the part as nearly as possible, they are then brought together, tied fast with bass, and clayed, or mossed over. Camellias, like most other woody plants, may be also propagated by several other modes of grafting, of which about seven or eight varieties are practised in this country. The French have carried this matter much farther, for we find the late Professor Thouin has described about forty 12 116 THE CAMELLIA HOUSE. different modes, and about fifty different modes of budding. in the earlier ages of horticulture, the art of grafting was considered little short of magic, it is, however, now well understood, and may be practised by the curious as an amusement. Those who wish to study the philosophy of this art, may consult with advantage the works of Thouin, Du Hamel, Rosier, and Quintiney, amongst the French: Sickler, Christ, and Mayer, amongst the Germans; and Philip Miller, Curtis, Knight, and others amongst the English. PROPAGATING BY BUDDING, {s very much practised of late years, particularly in regard to new or very rare varieties, for by this means a shoot of seven buds, for example, if grafted or inarched would produce one, or at most two plants, while if the budding system be followed, as many plants as there are buds will be the produce. To such an extent is this mode of propagation carried on amongst continental cultivators, that they fix the price of their plants by the number of leaves or buds that they contain. Budding may be performed at almost any period of the summer, the plants operated on being kept in a moist and rather warm propagating house. In the case of budding and also of grafting; if the stocks be small and the operation performed near the bottom of the plant, they will be much benefitted by being placed under hand glasses until the union takes place, and indeed until the bud, or scion, has grown for a few inches, and not till then can the heads of the stock be cut off, without a risk of. failure, because, as it has been justly remarked by a writer upon this subject in the Hort. Register, an exuberance of sap is thus thrown into the scions before they, are sufficiently established to receive it without injury; just as too great a upply of nutriment.injures the infant of the human race; neither should the ligatures and clay be removed before that time; these remarks are also applicable to the young inarched plants. After this, all the plants should have their tops nipped off to two or three buds, or they may be removed by inarching or grafting them, if it be wished to increase the stock of the variety ; but unless one of these precautions be followed, the plants will very probably run up with a single stem, and instead of being bushy and pyramidal, will be loose and rambling, and must eventually be cut down. When the plants are headed down they should be kept im a gentle hot bed, or moderately close frame, and should they show a disposition to — | == iNARCHING. 117 grow straggling or weak, the shoots should be from time to time shortened. PROPAGATING BY INARCHING, is the mest common end also the most expeditious and certain mode of any, and is performed in general in spring, when the plants are be- ginning to grow. The essential! difference between this mode and that of grafting, as noticed above, is only in placing the plants, as represented below, so that neither the one nor the other is displaced until the union has fully taken place, when they may be separated and treated like plants | that have been grafted. FRAT TR e SX iil H ; is hy Pe NR % \ \ \\ d H i St al re ) — oi - ay wil) NS HO wk \\ NY Weta Yes Bey Y i s i) We \y c l YS" xe ryt v7, rie \ POAC HH Ih\ INTRA NUR AGH RES LLY) een IM —w E! i ! a ‘Inarching may be performed during the summer and autumn, after the ripening of the wood, or early in spring before the plants begin to grow. it is not necessary to use clay in operating by this method, a little damp ‘Soft moss slightly tied round the part where the union is to take place is ——— a 118 THE CAMELLIA HOUSE. quite sufficient. In general, the union will have taken place and the scions may be cut from the parents in about two months. But the accompanying engravings and their description will convey to the reader a better idea of the process of inarching than any description we could give. Supposing then, that the plants to be inarched are in a fit condition for the work, choose a new clean portion of the stem of the stock, as near the scion as possible, then take a clear portion of the stem of the stock as near the size of the scion as you can, then take a slice of the bark with a small piece of the wood off, about the length of one inch and three quarters, as at a, fig. 1. Bring the scion close, and take the exact length of the naked part of the stock a, and make a similar place bare in the scion, as at 4, fig. 2. When this is done, cut a tongue in the sfock, or 2 wedge-slope gap, as at ¢, fig, 3, to receive the tongue d, fig.4; by this means the scion may be hooked on to the stock to insure firmness, as shown at e, fig.5. When they have been thus brought together, care INARCHING 119 must be taken that the two barks meet exactly down one side. They may be easily so placed when hooked together; and then the best way is, to secure the top by tying it round firmly with damp bass; and after this very little care will insure the bark of the stock and scion meeting at their edges down one side. On the proper junction of these parts of course all depends, and as soon as they are so fixed, bind them together firmly with a smooth piece of new matting as at fig. 6. A small piece of clay may be placed over the bandage to exclude the air, and over this a little damp moss may be applied to keep the clay from cracking. If the plants are ina good growing state, in six weeks or two months the union will be so perfect as to admit of the scion being separated from the parent plant. After this, the plant had better be allowed to remain a short time,—say eight or ten days; and if then the plant continues to look in health, the ban- dage may be entirely removed, and the part re-bound with a broader ' piece of matting, to prevent it from swelling out and becoming unsightly. Over it a little damp moss may with advantage be placed; the whole 120 THE CAMELLIA HOUSE. band may, from time to time, be loosened, and entirely removed as soon as the scion appears quite established. PROPAGATING BY LAYING, Is seldom practised unless by nurserymen upon an extensive scale, and who have Camellia stools planted out in pits, protected during winter by glass, mats, or other covering. The process of laying is performed in spring, and is the same as that practised with other evergreens. The year following, the young plants are taken off the stool, potted, and afterwards used as stocks. GENERAL TREATMENT WHEN IN THE HOUSE. In a Camellia house having a north aspect, was it not that the plants would in most cases stand too crowded during the summer, we would prefer to keep them always in; but in houses having a southern aspect, we would remove them out into the open air during the heat of sum- mer into a cool shaded situation, for Camellias do not like an excess of heat, whether from the sun or from artificial means. The only season when a slight heat is advantageously applied is, when they are making their young wood, at which period also they require an extra supply of water, not only at their roots, but over their foliage also. To prolong the flowering season of this splendid family, it might be well to remove a few of them in succession into a vinery, or cool stove, to forward their bloom- ing, but this must be done at the period when they are making their wood, or rather before that -period naturally arrives, say March, or even the end of February ; the intention being to forward the formation of wood, and consequently flower buds also. When the flower buds are formed, they should then be placed in the coolest part of the Camellia house, and less abundantly supplied with water. If three or four sections of plants be so treated, they will come into bloom in the same order, and keep up a con- siderable display until the general collection come into bloom at their natural season. The Camellia is easily cultivated, the few following rules being attended to viz., never allow them to become too dry at the root, which they are liable to do, particularly if under potted. An extreme of moisture is also to be guarded against. Keep them cool while they are coming into bloom, oe TREATMENT IN THE HOUSE. 12] and during the period when they are so. Keep them rather close, slightly warm, and very moist while making their wood. Give them plenty of pot reom, particularly large specimens, but under no circumstances plant them out in the borders of the house. Shade them from the sun, and never apply heat to them when coming into flower, nor during the period of fiowering, for the buds will neither expand so well, nor will they con- tinue so long in perfection. After the flower buds are formed, great care ought to be taken that the plants are not neglected from want of water, even for the shortest time, as if such should be permitted, the flower buds will be certain to fall off. Such also would be the case ifan undue application be indulged in. We find Mr. Paxton attributes the falling off of the flower buds to another cause, viz., the sudden changes of temperature; but in our opinion this latter species of mismanagement has less effect upon the Camellia than he appears to think. “The great reason,” says Mr. P., “ why the flower buds very often fall off, without coming properly into bloom, is, the too sudden changes in the temperature to which they are exposed; for instance, when the buds are nearly ready to expand, a sudden heat causes them to push forth too rapidly ; and, on the contrary, a decrease of warmth at that time checks their growth, and, in both cases causes them.to fall. It is astonishing how very easily the flower buds, when nearly ready to expand, are acted upon by heat or cold, the variation of only a few degrees will considerably affect them ; it is therefore absolutely necessary that great attention should be paid to them at that time, particularly if it be in the winter season ; in the spring so much care is not required, as in general each succeeding day is a little warmer than its predecessor; but in the winter months, when the weather is so changeable, and the plants are only excited by artificial means, the greatest care is requisite, in order to keep them from advancing too much, and also not to allow the temperature to decrease, for fear of the flower buds falling off.” Camellias may be forced so as to produce their flowers at almost any period of the year. GENERAL TREATMENT WHEN OUT OF DOORS. mf Having already ‘stated our opinion upon the propriety of keeping Camellias at all seasons under glass, when the structure they are intended to inhabit is properly adapted for them, it only remains for us to observe, i | | 122 THE CAMELLIA HOUSE. that those which are to be placed for a time in the open air, should be arranged in a situation that is completely shaded from the mid-day’s sun, and that they are also placed in a sheltered position, and abundantly sup- plied with water during dry and warm weather. The period when they can with advantage be so placed is, in most seasons, from the beginning of June till the end of September; but this depends very much upon the progress the young wood has made, prior to the former of those dates. The young wood should be fully formed and partially ripened before they are turned out; at this period the flower buds also will have been formed. In cold wet seasons, it may be necessary to remove them earlier into the house, where they should have air abundantly admitted to them, to ripen the wood and fully mature the flower buds. SOIL. Some writers recommend peat mould alone; and others, a compound of peat, loam, rotten dung and vegetable mould. Our opinion is, that a light, yellow loam, with a very small portion of peat, is to be preferred; and in this we are borne out by the practice of Messrs. Loddiges, and Chandler and Sons, of Vauxhall, two of the most successful cultivators of this tribe of plants in England. SHIFTING OR POTTING. The months of February and March, about which period the flowering season is past, are the times recommended for this operation by the most successful cultivators ; with a view to obtain large specimens, frequent shift- ing is necessary, as the roots may extend to the extremity of the balls, while, to obtain abundance of bloom upon moderately sized plants, the best practice is to confine the roots to a reasonable extent, at the same time to give a moderate quantity of water at all times. When the opera- tion of potting is finished, the plants should be placed in a temperature of from sixty five to seventy five degrees, during the day, and from five to ten degrees of less temperature during the night. The application of a mild and somewhat humid heat, at this period, is of vast importance te the growth of the Camellia; for without it, the buds would break weakly, and instead of producing vigourous shoots of from four to twelve inches in length, would only push to the extent of an inch or two, and in the SHIFTING AND RE-POTTING. 123 course of a year or two the plants would assume a stinted and sickly ap- pearance, from which it would be difficult to recover them. The appli- cation of heat must not, however, be carried too far, else the consequence would be as bad on the contrary extreme, and the wood produced would be slender and devoid of flower buds. When the young wood has completed its growth, the temperature should be raised to about ten de- grees above that recommended; this increase of temperature is intended to enable the plants to form their flower buds in perfection and abundance. It requires some degree of observation, to ascertain the proper period of thus increasing the temperature, as it should take place just as the young wood has completed its growth, and before it has begun to turn hard, or of a woody texture. a SELECT LIST OF CAMELLIAS. WHITE. Lady Bank’s Camellia. (Ca. Sasanqua.) Flowers in February and November, in peat and loam. Inarching, graft- ing, budding, laying, and cuttings. Lady Bank’s double white Camellia.. (Ca. Sasanqua plena alba.) Flowers in February and November, in peat and loam. Inarching, generally, as is the case with all the family. Lady Bank’s semi-double white Ca- mellia. (Ca. semi-plena alba.) Flow- ers in February and November, in peat and loam. Inarching. Spotted Camellia. (Ca. punctata.) Flowers in February and May, in peat andloam. Inarching. Rose-of-the-World Camellia. (Ca. rosa mundi.) Flowers in February and May, in peat andloam. Inarching. White anemone- flowered Camellia. (Ca. anemoneflora alba.) Flowers in February and May, in peat and loam. Inarching. Sabin’s Camellia. (Ca. Sabiniana. ) Flowers in February and May, in peat andloam. Inarching. Alinutt’s Camellia. (Ca. Allnuttia.) Flowers in February and May, in peat andloam. Inarching. Single white Camellia. (Ca. alba.) Flowers in February and May, in peat and loam. Inarching. Flavescent Camellia. (Ca. flavescens.) Flowers in February and May, in peat andloam. Inarching. Welbank’s Camellia. (Ca. Welbankii.) Flowers in February and May, in peat and loam. Inarching. Variable white Waratah Camellia. (Ca. variabilis.) Flowers in Feb- ruary and May, in peat and loam. Inarching. Fringed white Camellia. (Ca. fim- briata.) Flowers in February and May, in peat andloam. Inarching. Press’s eclipse Camellia.=(Ca. eclipsis.) Flowers in February and May, in peat and loam. Inarching. Compact Camellia. (Ca. compacta.) Flowers in February and May, in peat and loam. Inarching. Palmer’s Camellia. (Ca. Palmervii. ) Flowers in February and May, in peat and loam. Inarching. RED. Single red Camillia. (Ca. rubra. ) Flowers in February and May, in peat andloam. Cuttings. Reticulated Camellia. (Ca. reticulata.) Flowers in April and June, in peat and loam. Inarching, : Semi-double red Camellia. (Ca. semi- duplex.) Flowers in February and May, in peat and leam. Inarching | or grafting. Double red Camellia. (Ca. rubro plena.) Flowers in February and May, in peat andloam. Inarching. ¥Flesh-coloured Camellia. (Ca. carnea.) Flowers in February and May, in peat andloam. Inarching. Thick-nerved Camellia. (Ca. erassi- nervis.) Flowers in February and May, in peat andloam. Inarching. Expanded Camellia. (Ca. expansa.) Flowers in February and May, in peat andloam. Inarching. Shell-flowered Camellia, (Ca. conchi- flora.) Flowers in February and May, in peat andloam. Inarching. Long-leaved Camellia. (Ca. longi- folia.) Flowers in February and May, in peat andloam. Inarching. Myrtle-leaved Camellia. (Ca. myrti- folia.) Flowers in February and May, in peat andloam. Inarching. SELECT LIST Dark red Camellia. (Ca. atrorubens.) | Flowers in February and May, in | peat andloam. Inarching. | Anemone - fiowered Camellia. (Ca. anemoneflora.) Flowers in Feb- | ruary and May, in peat and loam. Inarching. Involute Camellia. (Ca. involuta.) | Flowers in February and May, in | peat andloam. Inarching. ae rest Hexangular Camellia. (Ca. hexangu- | laris.) Flowers in February and | May, in peat andloam. Inarching. | Carnation-flowered Waratah Camellia. | (Ca. dianthifiora.) Flowers in Feb- ruary and May, in peat. and loam. Inarching. Red-stemmed Camellia. (Ca. rubri- | caulis.) Flowers in February and | May, in peat andicam. Inarching. | Aucnba-leaved Camellia. (Ca. aucube- folia.) Flowers in February and March, in peat and loam. Inarch- ing, grafting, or budding. Great-flowered Camellia. (Ca. grandi- flora.) Flowers in February and May, in peat andioam. Inarching. Dwari Camellia. (Ca.nana.) Flowers | in February and May, in peat and | loam. Inarching. | Aiton’s Camellia. (Ca. Aitonii.) Flow- | ers in February and May, in peatand | loam. Inarching. Flowery Camellia. (Ca. florida.) Flow- | ers in February and May, in peat andloam. Inarching. Splendid Camellia. (Ca. splendens.) | Flowers in February and May, in | peat andloam. inarching. Beautiful Camellia. (Ca. concinna.) Flowers in February and May, in peat and loam. Inarching. Wood’s Camellia. (Ca. Woodii.) Flow- 125 ers in February and May, in peat andloam. Inarching. Rose-like Camellia. (Ca. rosea.) Flow- ers in February and May, in peat and loam. Inarching. Berlezi’s Camellia. (Ca. Berleziana.) Flowers in February and May, in peat and loam. Inarching. Gray’s Camellia. (Ca. Graya.) Flow- ers in February and May, in peat and loam. Inarching, budding, or grait- ing. Base’: Camellia. (Ca. Rossii.) Fiow- ers in February and May, in peat and loam. Inarching. Spatulate Camellia. (Ca. spatulata.) Flowers in February and May, in peat andloam. Inarching. Hollyhock - flowered Cameilia. (Ca. altheifiora.) Flowers in February and May, in peat and loam. In- arching. Press’s Camellia. (Ca. Pressii.) Flow- ers in February and May, in peat and loam. Inarching. Reeves’s Camellia. (Ca. Reevesiana.) Flowers in February and May, in peat andloam. Inarching. Elegant. Camellia. (Ca. elegans. ) Flowers in February and May, in peat andloam. Inarching. Imbricated Camellia. (Ca. imbricata.) Flowers in February and May, in peat andloam. Inarching. Allnutt’s superb Camellia. (Ca. All- nutiia superba.) Flowers in Feb- ruary and May, in peat and loam. Inarching. Beale’s Camellia. (Ca. Bealeii.) Flow- ers in February and May, in peat and loam. Inarching, budding, or grafting. BLUSH. — Peony-flowered Camellia. (Ca.peonie- flora.) Flowers in February and May, in peat and loam. Inarching. Blush Waratah Camellia. (Ca. dlanda.) Flowers in February and May, in Pompone Camellia. (Ca. pomponia.) Flowers in February and May, in peat andioam.. Inarching. Colvilie’s Camellia. (Ca. Colvillii. ) Flowers in February and May, in peat andloam. Inarching. | peat andloam. Inarching. SCARLET. Coral-flowered Camellia. (Ca. coral- ; Scarlet Camellia. (Ca. coccinea. ) lina.) Flowers in February and _ May, in peat and loam. Inarching. Splendid Camellia. Flowers in February and May, in peat and loam. Inarching. ( Ca. insignis.) | Flowers in February and May, in peat andloam. Inarching. — Poppy-flowered Camellia. (Ca. papa- veracea.) Flowers in February and May, in peat andloam. Inarching. Elegant Camellia. (Ca. elegans. ) Flowers in February and May, in peat and loam. ae mne Sweet’s Camellia. (Ca. Sweetianda.) Flowers in February and May, in peat and loam. Inarching, grafting, or budding. Pale-yellow Camellia. (Ca. luteo-atoa.) Flowers in February and May, in peat and loam. Inarching. Chandler’s striped Waratah Camellia. (Ca. Chandlerii.) Flowers in Feb- ruary and May, in peat and loam. Inarching. Clowe’s Camellia. (Ca. Cloweana.) Flowers in February and May, in peat and loam. Inarching. 126 THE CAMELLIA HOUSE. ROSY. Neat Camellia. (Ca. concinna.) Flow- ers in February and May, in peat and loam. Inarching. China rose Camellia. (Ca. rosa sin- ensis.) Flowers in February and May, in peat andloam. Inarching. ‘YELLOW. Incarnate Camellia. (Ca. incarnata.) Flowers in February and May, in peat andloam. Inarching. VARIEGATED. King’s Camellia. (Ca. Kingii.) Flow- ers in February and May, in peat and loam. Inarching. Single red-spotted Camellia. (Ca. rubro punctata. ) Flowers in February and May, in peat and loam. Inarching. J (i) aii I Vy x AM) \ Re get” i + Vis Muh diy pe 127 LIST OF CAMELLIAS IN THE COLLECTION OF M. AT LIEGE, MAKOY, WITH THEIR PRICES IN FRANCS. This is, perhaps, the most extensive List of Camellias ever published, amounting to 294 varieties, and will shew with what zeal our neighbours on the continent attend to this department. Many of those which are of foreign origin have been introduced into England; some, however, in the annexed List have not yet reached us. belle de W ilhemshahe *belle Rosalie Blackburnia : 6 *blanda : cornation waratah coronata *crassifolia *crassinervis yon a ; Boe; 2 Camellia euryoides grandifiora 6 | Camellia Brookiana . é 25 rosea : Brownii rosea grandiflora 8al15 Buckliana . japonica . 1 Buckii - japonica Adelaide candidissima - 8220 Adlemanni . 5 Campbellii . japonica alba grandi- *cardinalis . 5 flora : : carnea “ 2—10 *Aitoni- . . 2,50— 6 Carswelliana albo pl. - . 2—50 *Carolus . - ooh simplex 2—10 Casseli *albo simplex striata 5 Chandleri 3—10 Almet : 5 Charles Auguste = *Alnut’s splendens . 48 Clawesiana . 20 althoeifiora . 3—10 Clintoniz 4 *amabilis , 5 celestina . *Amherstia : 6 *Clintonie de Knight 7 anemonifiora ( red Cliveana 6 waratah) . . 2—350 *coccinea 3— 6 anemonifloraalba . 4—8 Colia oy ‘anemonifiora rosa de Colletti 50 Press : ‘ 25 colorata nova 30—50 Antwerpensis : 15 Colvillii 10—20 Apunga . : 6 Colvillii rubra 25 *argentea . 3—6 compacta 4— § atrorubens . ~ 215 compacta rubra (con- atroviolacea ‘ 6 color fol. var.) 15 *aucubifolia -3— 6 *conchillora 2— 6 augusta (Dernii) 7—12 concinna 15—25 Barnebiana ‘ 10 conspicua 5 Bedfordii . ; Leg conspiqua deLoddeges 50 *belle Henriette corallina (Carolina) . 3—25 Pass: he GO ho Oh AUROTwWH MH WO if 1 40 ible He et ee! Cro Sist Or a 128 THE CAMELLIA HOUSE. Camellia cruenta FO curvatifolia 20 4 30 cruenta de Knight 8 dahliceflora 7 Daelenii 10—25 Decandolli . 6 decipiens . i 5 decora 6 delecta = 2 7 delectabilis - 15—30 delicatissima 30—+0 Derbeyana . - 4-8 *dianthiflora(Knighti) 3— 6 *diversifiora : 6 ~ Donkelaari. 25—50 Dorsetti ' - 4-10 double variegated wa- ratah de Knight . 10 eclips (regina gallica- rum) : - 4—12 Drummondii dulcis 25—40 Egertonie . electa . elata de chandler § 95 elata de Rollinson . 25 elegans de Chandler *elerantissima 3 Elphinstoniana : 6 excelsa (Rollisoni ae Gaud). : ximia 7—12 exoniensis . . 48 exquesita 15—30 Fairleya: . : 10 *fasicuiaris : 6 fimbriata 3—10 *flaccida . : 3 flammea . 5 fammeoia superba flavescens (buif ) 2—50 fiori ida : 5 3— 6 *foliacea : 5 Floyli : : 200 Foordii 15—30 formosa 3 5 formosa de young fulgentissima 5—10 Fr ancofortensis(Wel- lingtonii) . - 20—40 Fraserii : z 12 Frederic le Grand . 200 fructu pyriformis . 5 gigantea (fulgida) 4— 8 gloria mundi = 6 gloriosa 4— 8 Seran dissima : “Gr ayia de Knight . 8 Garveyli. 25 Gilliesii (Nancy Daw- son) a 290—40 *Grifiini . : 3 »- Greenelii 30—60 guttata ; : 40 Raleysia . : 5 | | | — Camellia Haylockii . A helvola Y ; Hendersonii Herbertii : heterophylla ¥ hexangularis (mons- trosa) (crassinervis de Lodd . ; hexangularis rosea Hibbertii Hosackii *humilis A *hybrida colorata . ignescens imbricata imbricata alba 4 *impératrice du Bré- sil incarnata *mcomparabilis *insignis *insignis alba *insignis rubra J ohnsonii Juliana 4 Jussietili *Kentil Kellyana King Knight’s war *Knight’s single scar- let 1 war 4 Knight’s white war . Lamberti lactea de Young Lady Eleonore Camp- bell , cornation Lansezeuriana “ latifolia macrantha . *Lanckmanni Lehmanni (ardens) . linbriata . HY pee (Goussonice) eeana superba “ Lefevriana . ; lepidata lucida ‘ magnifica . : marmeoeraia. Martha : . Master’s double red . Mellinetti . = Mexicana . : minuta *multifiora . mutabilis . myrtifolia . nivea (gallica alba) nobilissima ochroleuca. , ornata *Osbornea . oxoniensis de Knight pee : : or) 10 6 2—30 : , ff Camellia Palmer’s striped war 12 Palmer’s white ; 10 *papaveracea de lod- diges : 4a 20 co Saag de Chand- 20 Park’s striped - 15 Parthoniana . 20—30 *penicillata pendala de Chandler 25 *Percye 6 picturata 30—40 pictorum coccineum . *plumaria . : 6 pomponia 2—30 Preston’s eclips 10 *prince d’Orange . 4 princeps . 8—6 Pronoyana . : 10 proegnans . .2,50— 6 pulchella : pulcherina . punctata pl. (Banksie) (Gray’s invincible) (splendida) .. 4—10 punctata major 40—60 *purpurascens war 5 ranunculifiora é 25 Rachel Ruysi 10 Rawesii (speciosa) Rathmoriana 15 Reevesiana : 15 reine des P.-B. . 26 resplendens 40—50 Rivinii . 5—10 roi des P.-B. - 2 6 Rollissonii vera § rosa bengalensis : 5 rosacea -. 3—6 roseflora 4 rosa mundi. 6—15 rosa sinensis (Wall- nerii) . 38— 6 rose waratah . 6—12 rosa de la Chine - 10—15 *rotundifolia ‘ Roulinii Rozeanum (Palmer’s cornation war) *rubescens. rubro pl. 2—50 rubro major rubricaulis (fulgens) 2—50 Russeil’s nova : Sabinii : CP NESS yi *salicifolia . : a sanguinea . . 2,50—15 SELECT LIST. pent ho Liss) fo Fe Camellia sanguinea nova : Schrynmakersii F 25 sericea . 4428 serratifolia . A 35 Sieboldii . ‘ 10 *Simsii au! . 3&6 *single waratah 5 *spatulata . 3— 6 *speciosa simple (sta- minea) . : 4 splendens . 3— 6 Spoffortiana spolufera . x striata pl. . - 3—50 superba. » 4-8 superbissima grand- issima . 2 *supina 4 . Susanna . 40 Sweetiana de Gand . : Sweetiana vera de Colvill . - Thomsonii . Traversii plenissima 10—25 tricolor 3 - 30-100 tricolor de Young triumphans 49 ‘uniflora . : 5 Vandesiana . 10 Vandesiana carnea . Vandesiana superba . various colour a + venosa : ° 5 venusta . 7 Pictori Antwerpensis 15 Vilmoriana - 10—I16 violacia superba . 25—40 *waratea rosea ~ 5 Wadieana . = Wallichii . : Watzoniana : 7 Walter Scott Welbanckii 2,50—50 Weymarii ( pompon 172 pl.) . oS Wilbrahamia 6 Wiltonize (parviflora) 3— 6 Woodsii . . 386 *Young’s red . 4 York et Lancastere . Kissi : 3 maliflora (sasanqua rosea pl.). - 3—50 oleifera vera 10 reticulata 30—60 Sasanqua . 2—30 sasanqua albo duplex 10—25 The intelligent proprietor of the above extraordinary collection appears to be aware that many seedlings of very inferior merit have been perpetuated. “ J’ai réforme,’’ he says, ‘‘les 69 Camellia suivants, parce que leurs fleurs sont trop peu intéressantes.”?> These we have marked thus (*) in the above list. K — —— ew si mena eat ee et TAL IE CTT ROE IE yr. a MISCELLANEOUS PLANTS, THAT MAY BE CULTIVATED IN THE CAMELLIA HOUSE. RHODSDENDRONS. We have already stated, that the Camellia house is a very proper habita- tion for the Nepal Rhododendrons, and also for such hybrids of that genus as have been originated by art, and are too delicate to stand in the flower garden, on account of the early season of their flowering. It is neces- sary that we should say something on their cultivation and propagation. The Rhododendron seeds freely, and is, from that natural mode of in- crease, readily obtained. The seeds should be sown as soon after they are gathered as possible, in pots, previously well drained, and filled with peat to within an inch of the top, which latter space should be filled with very fine sifted peat, and the surface made quite smooth and level, upon which the seeds are to be sown, but not covered with mould, as they are so very small, that they are liable to be buried too deep. But to prevent their being washed off in the process of watering, and also to shade them from the sun and air, athin layer of fine moss should be laid over them. The pots should be placed ina cool, shaded place, where the atmosphere will be as uniform as possible around them, for they are very impatient of ex- treme drought, damp, or sudden changes. For greater security, they may be covered with bell or hand glasses. When the young plants are about an inch high, they should be potted into small pots; two, three, or more plants in each, and placed as close to the edge of the pot as possible, and gradually exposed to the air, until they can stand it without protection. After sowing, and during summer, a very proper situation for seedling pots of Rhododendrons, would be under the shelter of some large spreading evergreen ; and during winter, upon a shelf in the Camellia house, close to the glass, or in a cold frame, or pit, free from damp, and from which frost is excluded. Rhododendrons are easily increased by grafting, and also by inarching 2 * ee ap ne een an erence tages ee ial aPeliay oe IIE itil. scitaipinr tin ooo ¢ ’ ~ =) in N 4 ~ ’ 4 al - ioe fi ie r Sal yr a r= Pe. ~ RHODODENDRONS. '1 in a similar way with Camellias, as already noticed. They are sometimes increased by layers; but this latter mode is seldom employed, unless in the case of the more ordinary sorts. Their treatment is altogether so much like that of Camellia, that any separate directions upon that head here, might be deemed superfluous, farther than that they require a peat soil, and cannot be over-watered while making their young wood. This treatment agrees very nearly with that they experience in their native places of growth, which is towards the bottom of the Nepal mountains, where they are partially irrigated, in con- sequence of the melting of the snow on the mountains above, which takes place about the time they begin to shoot in spring, and lasts during the period they are making their young wood. The remainder of the year, they are comparatively dry. Of course, the proper stock on which.to graft or inarch the finer species, such as arboreum, arboreum fio. album, nepalense, cinnamomeum, setosum, campanulatum, aromaticum, and the English hybrids, Russellianum, alta- elerense, Smithii, &c., are plants of the commoner sorts, potted and trained on purpose. We ought here to observe, that grafted plants of the Rhodo- dendrons never make so good plants as those originated from seeds ; and if we are to give credit to the doctrine laid down by our enlightened countryman, T. A. Knight, Esq., and others, trees have a stated period of existence, and grafts, or cuttings taken from them, do not survive much longer than the term allowed to the original plant; we may, therefore, expect to lose, ere long, some of the present fine varieties ; and should pay regard to the production of new ones from seed. This is a doctrine, however, which is denied by most of the continental writers, as well as by some of our own authors. Tous it appears.a matter of very little consequence; for, supposing every Rhododendron which ex isted in this country ten or a dozen years ago was totally lost, we have hundreds of varieties originated from seeds within that period, that are infinitely superior to any of them, for every purpose of orna- ment, whether as decorations for the greenhouse, conservatory, or flower garden. Seeds of the finer Nepal sorts, are from time to time brought to this country, and the art‘of man is increasing new varieties every year. MAGNOLIAS. The species of this genus that may be advantageously cultivated in the za - a 132 THE CAMELLIA HOUSE. Camellia house, are those that are natives of China, viz. tomentosa, obovata, fuscata, anonefolia, pumila, and the hybrid Soulangiana. These are all plants of easy culture, requiring just the same treatment as Camellias. They are increased principally by grafting and imarching upon stocks of M. purpuria, and sometimes by buddings, cuttings, and layers; the former is by far the most expeditious and certain mode. NERIUM OLEANDER. This splendid species, with its varieties, is very readily multiplied by cut- tings, planted in light, rich soil, and placed in a mild bottom heat, without covering. They also root freely, if the ends of the cuttings be placed in a bottle of water, and placed in a frame, or hot house. A light, rich soil, is most proper for the plants when rooted, and an abundance of water at all times: the very name, Nerium, is derived from damp, because the plants grow naturally upon the banks of rivers, and in marshy places This is an old inhabitant of our greenhouses, having been introduced from the south of Europe in 1596; and if attention is paid to its cultiva- tion, which is exceedingly simple, few plants are more beautiful when in flower, and in that state it remains a long time. ILLICIUM FLORIDANUM. The foliage of this plant is exceedingly fragrant ; so much so, that the name is derived from /ilicio, to attract. The Chinese use the leaves and fiowers for seasoning some of their finest dishes, while their neighbours, the Japanese, decorate the temples of their deities, and the tombs of their friends with the branches of this plant. The most usual method of in- creasing this species, and also J. anisatum, is by layers, but the ripened wood of both roots ‘will vegetate in time, if planted in sand, or sandy peat and loam, and placed in a cool frame, and otherwise treated as directed for Camellias. ” DAPHNE ODORA. This very odgriferous plant is readily increased by cuttings of the young shoots planted in sand, or light peat and Ioam, ina slight bottom heat, and close, moist atmosphere. Light peat and loam, of equal quantities, is the MISCELLANEOUS PLANTS. 133 proper soil for them to grow in. To flower them well, the cultivator must be sparing of the knife, as the terminating buds of the shoots produce leaves, and the lateral ones flowers: a circumstance noticed by Linneus as being characteristic of this genus. LUCULIA GRATISSIMA. This very fragrant plant is readily increased by cuttings of the ripened wood, and also by layers, either in heat or not. The soil best adapted for it is sandy loam and peat. KENNEDY Z, VARIOUS SPECIES. These all seed freely when old plants, and from them a plentiful supply of young ones can always be obtained. They also strike by cuttings planted in sand and covered with a glass, in a coolplace. Peat and loam is the proper soil for all the genus. WISTERIA CHINENSIS. This splendid flowering plant should have a place in every garden, both in the greenhouse, and on the open wall, where it flowers abundantly, but is sometimes liable to be injured by late spring frosts. It is a very good plan to adopt with this plant, to plant it against a wall near to the Camellia house or greenhouse, and to train it not only on both sides of the open wail, but also to introduce a branch of it inte the Camellia house or greenhouse, when it will come into flower earlier than on the wall, and be secure from the frost. The branches trained on the open wall, will flower also in succession ; those on a south aspect first, and be succeeded by those on the north. The plant is rapidly increased by lay- ing the shoots in pots plunged in the ground at the bottom of the wall. It sometimes produces seeds. 3 CAPRIFOLIUM JAPONICUM AND JASMINUM GRANDIFLORA, Are both much esteemed for the fragrance of their flowers, and also for their beauty. They are both readily increased by cuttings of the ripened wood, planted in sand, under a glass, in a cool place. They also luxuriate in a soil of equal parts of light loam, peat, and very rotten dung. ————E Ss 134 CAMELLIA HOUSE. TECOMA GRANDIFLORA. This splendid plant is a native of China, but is sufficiently hardy to flower well in the open air of this country. Plants of it have existed against a wall in the gardens at Claremont, and elsewhere, for the last twenty years. It is, nevertheless, well worthy of a place in the Camellia house, where it will flower earlier than upon the open wall. It succeeds in a soil of peat and loam, and is increased by eyes planted in pots, placed in a mild temperature. These must of course be taken off early in spring, cut to about an ‘inch and a half in length, and covered about half an inch with mould, in the same manner as practised for propagating vines. We believe this method was first practised in the Claremont gardens; but is now pretty generally followed. Formerly, this plant was rare, and considered difficult to increase: the usual method being by cuttings of the roots, and by laying. Plants originated from single eyes, frequently flower the same year, when about a foot Iigh. PASSIFLORA LOUDONII, AND P. KERMISINA, Are two splendid varieties of this popular family. They are increased by cuttings of the young shoots planted in sand, and covered with a glass, and also by layers, and seeds, when the latter can be obtained. Any mo- derately rich, light soil suits them; and, contrary to the generality of the genus, will flower well in a low temperature. eo" arti eee a et ee rete ge ee Euphorbia fulgens Tacsonia Pinnatistipula. Hovea celsi. Erythrina cristi-galli. | : - Printed in Oil Colours, by G. Baxter, Patentee, 3, Cha house Square, : cme gh 135 THE BULB HOUSE. “ BULBOUS-ROOTED plants associate almost as ill with other plants as succulents do; and therefore, wherever a good collection is kept, there should be a house entirely devoted to their culture.”’ Such is the opinion of the Editer of the Encyclopedia of Gardening, and in this opinion we cordially agree. ‘The roof should be low and not very steep, and the pots should be kept on a level stage, or platform, raised table high, or about two foot and a half, that the flowers may be near the eye. A house with glass on all sides, and a central platform six or eight feet wide, and two side ones, or side borders, about three feet wide, would form an excellent house fer plants of this description, as all of them would be near the glass and near the eye of the spectator. Whenever the bulbs cultivated in such a house become in a dormant state, they should be removed to a pit, or frame of proper temperature im the reserve garden, and kept there dry till the growing season. Exotic bulbs require nearly the same degree of heat when lying dormant as when they are growing.” Bulbous-rooted plants require a different mode of culture from plants in general, and are, both before and after flowering, unsightly in their ap- pearance, and consequently they contribute little to the ornament of the house in which they grow. While in flower, few sections of plants exhibit a more varied, rich, and gay appearance, and by good management and a proper selection of kinds, a display of flowers may be kept up during the greater part of the year. “They appear,” says the Honourable and Rev. W. Herbert, “ to have gone out of favour lately with cultivators, probably from failure through mismanagement, for certainly they can be surpassed by few flowers in beauty ; and most of them may be cultivated in a warm geenhouse, if they are kept quite dry in the winter; but it should always be remembered, that very tender bulbs which are to be kept dry in the greenhouse, will rot if above ground, from the dampness of the atmosphere, though they would have been uninjured if closely covered by dry earth.” We here beg to be understood as alluding to the greenhouse and stove species of bulbous plants, of which the following genera forms the principal 136 THE BULB HOUSE. mass. Amaryllis, with their numerous hybrid varieties, 4utholiza, Clivea, Coburghia, Chlidanthus, Eucrosia, Babiana, Cyrtanthus, Eucomis, Galaxia, Gladiolus, Hemanthus, Strumaria, Brunsvigia, Nerine, Ixia, Oxalis, Luche- nalia, Massonia, Morea, Polyanthes, Wachendorfia, &c., as true bulbous plants, and to which we may with some propriety add the splendid genus Alstremeria, Gloriosa, Tropeolum, Cyciamen, &c. A house furnished with such genera as the above, would have a very interesting and imposing effect, and as there is perhaps no example of the kind in existence at present, should these remarks lead to such a result, we are satisfied that the gratification of the owner, would be equal to our utmost anticipation. The more tender bulbous plants, and such as are most nearly allied to them, will be treated of when we come to the cultivation of hot house plants. STRUCTURES CALCULATED POR BULBOUS PLANTS. We have above remarked that a house glazed on all sides and of na great height, is the most proper sort of structure for the successful eul- tivation of these plants. The annexed diagram will explain our views. {t represents a span-roofed form, eighteen feet wide, and seven feet and z half in height over the pathways. In the centre is a platform upon which the largest plants are intended to stand; this platform should be formed aver brick arches, and rendered capable of helding water upon its surface, hy STRUCTURES FOR BULBOUS PLANTS. 137 for the double purpose of keeping the roots of the plants moist and cool while they are in flower, and more especialy when they are making their young leaves, which is the most critical period of their growth; for unless these be fully developed, the chance of having fine flowers, if any, will be small. This table is also required to be rendered capable of holding water, because the bulbs, when in a dormant state, are intended to be deposited underneath, in the cavities at a, and it would be much too damp for this purpose if the spilt water only from the pots above it were allowed to fall. The water that may not pass off by evapo- ration from this platform should be emptied, by having one or two pipes through which it would pass to the drains under the house. The platform between the footpaths and sides of the house, are for the smaller kinds of bulbous plants, such as Jxiu, Owxalis, and Alstremeria. Such a house as this might be completely heated by the common smoke flues, or hot water pipes: the situation for either to be under the side platforms. Should such a house be considered too large, or the situation not be favourable for one upon this principle, the accompanying diagram may be WANG a a re lea considered a good substitute. The breadth of this house may be ten or twelve feet, seven feet and a halfin height over the footpath, having a water- tight — as above described, for the reception of the larger species of bulbs ; and a front platform, over the flue, for those of a smaller growth. The space under the larger platform at a, is intended for the reception of “plants when in a dormant state. THE BULB HOUSE. PROPAGATION AND TREATMENT WHILE YOUNG. Many species of bulbous-rooted plants produce seeds, and the majority of them produce offsets, which are either small, or imperfectly formed bulbs, but which, by cultivation for a longer or shorter period, according to their various habits, become of sufficient size and perfection to produce flowers. These offsets are to be taken off when the plant is in a state of rest, which happens in most sorts when they have done flowering. Some kinds of bulbous-rooted plants do not readily increase by offsets ; such as are of the tunicate shape are of this order. A tunicated or coated bulb, (bulbus tunicatus), consists of a number of tunics, or coats, which © are regularly laid over each other ; the common onion furnishes an example of this bulb. Such bulbs, if cut over transversely a little above the middle, will form young bulbs in abundance near the margin of the outer coat. As there is some danger of a bulb so treated rotting off before the young bulbs have time to form, particularly if kept in a damp situation, we would suggest the application of finely powdered charcoal, or caustic lime dust being applied daily, to dry up the sap which will flow from the wound, and which, if not stopped, or dried up, will cause decay to take place. Many bulbous-rooted plants produce seeds in abundance, both naturally and artificially. By the latter mode, the late Mr. Sweet, the Hon. and Rev. William Herbert, and others, have originated many splendid hybrid varieties, particularly of that splendid genus Amaryllis. Seeds being obtained, proceed to sow them as soon as they are ripe, if that does not take place after July; but if later, they had better be kept till the beginning of next March, forif they were brought into a state of vegetation towards autumn, there would be a great risk of losing them during the winter; whereas, if sown early in spring, they have the whole summer to grow in, and will have attained a state, before the following winter, to ~ secure themselves from harm. It is of little use to sow seeds of any free vegetating plant during winter, for they do not in general germinate, but remain inactive, in a state,.perhaps, very similar to the torpid condition of many animals; but on the coming of spring, the “‘ penetrative sun” rouses the embryo from its slumber into animated life. Light, rich, sandy loam, with a part of well decomposed leaf-mould, is the best soil in which to sow seeds of all bulbous-rcoted plants. The pots should be well drained, but at the same time, too much of their space should not be taken up with the drainage, because the roots of bulbs PROPAGATION FROM SEEDS. 139 penetrate to a considerable depth; and, hence, would be impeded in their progress, if sufficient depth of mould was not allowed for them. When the seeds are sown, they should be moderately watered ; for water is the principal agent in promoting germination, and without it, seeds would remain for ever in a dormant state. If the seeds of Ama- ryllis, which are not very small, be covered with finely sifted mould, similar to that on which they are sown, to the depth of one eighth of an inch, and larger or smaller seeds in a relative proportion, they will vege- tate freely. Seeds, if too deeply covered, will not vegetate at all, because they are placed beyond the influence of air, and different seeds seem to re- quire very different quantities of air, in order to further their germination. In order that seeds may germinate readily, it is not only necessary to expose them to the influence of the air, but that the air should be pure, or at - least as pure as that of the atmosphere. The experiments of M. Achard and other philesophers, have proved that seeds will not germinate in azotic gas, carbonic acid gas, nor hydrogen gas. Bierkander, a Swedish author, has instituted some curious experiments relative to the germina- tion of seeds of various kinds, at different depths under ground. He found that the seeds of flax would never vegetate if buried below a certain depth in the earth. And the seeds of black oats, after having lain deeply buried in the ground in a soil in Scotland for half a century, grew vigorously when the ground was trenched up and the seeds brought nearer to the surface. The pots in which the seeds of bulbous-rooted plants are sown, should be placed in a cool pit or frame, till they have vegetated, afterwards they will only require to be regularly watered, kept free from weeds, and fully exposed to the sun and air, the great object being to enable them to form as large and perfect leaves as possible, and to prolong the season of their growth to as late a period of the autumn as possible. When the foliage begins to turn yellowish, water should be gradually withheld, and as the foliage dies off it should be discontinued entirely. During winter, the young bulbs should be kept dry in the pots till spring, when they are to be taken out, re-potted, and excited into vegetation the following season. The best place in which to keep such pots during winter, is in the cavity formed under the platform, as represented in our diagrams ; and, when such is not provided for them, placing them on a dry shelf, where no water can reach them, during their season of rest, will be nearly as well. They may also be placed under the stage of any ordinary greenhouse or pit, where frost or damp cannot injure them, laid over on 140 THE BULB HOUSE. their sides, which will take up less room, and more effectually guard them from damp, than if they were placed in the usual position. The young bulbs from seed should be planted in February or March, the second year, and placed in a pit or frame, supplied with water, air, and light, in full abundance; the soil should be light, but of the richest description possible, viz., completely decomposed dung, a small portion of light yellow loam, and about an equal portion of pure gritty sand. Every attention should be paid to enable them to develope their foliage of a large and full size, for on this depends the size of the bulbs. Some few bulbs will flower the third year after this routine, but by far the greater part will not flower till the fourth, fifth, and sixth year from seed. GENERAL MANAGEMENT OF BULBOUS-ROOTED PLANTS. The management of exotic bulbous-rooted plants is much less generally known to gardeners, than the management of any other section of plants whatever, if we except that of Orchidee. The whole art of cultivating bulbs well, depends on the attention paid to two particular points, viz., the season when they are put into, and the length of time that they remain in a state of rest, and the perfection to which their foliage is brought during the season of growth. The most rational period for putting all bulbous plants into a state of rest, is soon after they have flowered, and while their leaves are beginning to decay. It is extremely injurious to take up any bulb, or even to destroy a single leaf, while it isin a growing state, for it should be remembered that it is the leaves which bring the roots to maturity, and prepare it for’flowering the fol- lowing year. The loss of a single leaf may be the cause of a bulb not fiowering for a year or two afterwards. The length of time that bulbs should be kept out of the ground, or kept in a state of rest, depends on their habits as to flowering. Some kinds require one month, while others of the same genus may be kept for three months in a state of rest without injury. This is one of the many points in gardening that practice and observation alone can teach. It may be laid down, however, as a rule, from which there are very few exceptions, that no bulb should be kept out of a state of growth after it has once shown symptoms of vegetation, nor should that vegetation be impeded, in the slightest degree, from the period of its first commencement, till the foliage is perfectly matured and beginning to decay. Bulbous-rooted plants require to be frequently taken up, to remove such ia” THE BULB HOUSE. 14] young bulbs as form round their sides, which, if not displaced, would rob the principal bulb of its due share of nourishment, and consequently, deprive it of the power of producing its flowers; some species of this tribe also form their young bulbs under the old ones, so that in course of time they would get so deep, if planted out, as at first to send up weak stems, and ultimately to cease to appear ; and, if in pots, would get so low in them, that they would not have room for their roots to extend in search of nourishment. Besides this regulation of the roots, in regard to number, there is also another important reason for either taking bulbs out of the mould once a-year, or for placing them in a state of rest, and that is, their being thereby rendered more excitable when again planted, which evidently is the case with bulbs that have been kept for a reasonable time in a dormant state. The late botanist Sweet, who studied the culture of Amaryllis and other similar bulbs in the once celebrated collection of the late Mr. Colville, found the advantage of turning out the bulbs from the pots when the leaves had ripened ; and when divested entirely from the mould, he laid them upen shelves, in a dry, moderately warm situation, leaving them until they began to show flowers, when they were taken out and potted. This practice, m our opinion, has some considerable advantages, for, that during their season of repose they occupy little space, are kept perfectly inactive, and are secure against the attacks of vermin. But this mode of treatment Mr Sweet did not consider applicable to all the genus, for he remarks, that “ dmaryliis, reticulata, and striatifolia, or the mules raised from them, will flower much better by remaining in pots all the year, as do also 4. aulica, calyptrata, Solandrefiora ;” but these of course must be kept dry, so as to remain quite dormant, otherwise they will not flower with certainty. “4. regine, crocata, rutila, accuminata, fulgida, Johnsonii, psittacina, and the mules between them, are much better turned out.” ‘When the production of fine flowers is more an object of desire on the part of the cultivator than the multiplication of plants, we would say, destroy all young plants as they appear above ground round the old bulb; and this may be done with great ease and safety by displacing a portion of the mould round the bulb, and rubbing off the offsets, either with the finger or a piece of blunt stick. By this practice, a great accession of strength is given to the main plant, both for the display of blossom during the current year, and also for invigorating the leaves to prepare and deposit nutriment in the bulb for the succeeding year, And, in con- 142 THE BULB HOUSE. formity with the same rule, every flower should be cut off as soon as it begins to decay, but not sooner, as an immense expenditure of sap would take place by cutting the flower stalk while in full vigour. The flower stalk should remain until the leaves have finally decayed and are falling off. When bulbs are excited in spring, the progress of vegetation should be allowed to proceed slowly and gradually, increasing the stimulus as the plant proceeds and the days lengthen, for bulbs excited rapidly seldom flower well, if at all, and often make such small and imperfect foliage as unfits them for preparing and depositing nutriment to the bulb for the suc- ceeding season. Although almost all bulbs force well if properly treated, few of them will flower well if excited rapidly. During the growing season, they require all the light and sunshine pos- sible, with a liberal supply of air and water, the latter in greater abun- dance than most other plants not actually aquatics. Bulbs also differ from most other greenhouse plants, in another particular, namely, that they do not require to be set out in the open air durmg summer. In- deed, all the advantages of the climate of a greenhouse or pit, is no more than they require to perfect their foliage and ripen their bulbs to perfection. SOIL. We have already remarked that most bulbous-rooted plants require a rich, light soil. That prepared by adding to one half rich, light, turfy loam, another half completely decomposed stable yard dung, with a portion of quick sand, will be an excellent compost for flowering strong bulbs. A lighter and equally rich compost should be used for more tender and delicate bulbs; and for the most common of all, any moderately good garden soil, not peaty, will be quite sufficient. Some genera require a slight difference in regard to soil, of which notice will be taken under their respective heads. SHIFTING AND POTTING. A general examination of bulbous plants should take place about the beginning of March, every spring, but individuals will require to be potted if they have been kept out of pots during their period of rest, as well as THE BULB HOUSE. 143 others that may have been kept in pots during that period, when- ever they show symptoms of vegetation, whether in spring, autumn, or mid-winter. The pots best suited for bulbs should be rather deeper than those in common use, because the roots of all bulbs penetrate to a considerable depth perpendicularly, and being both tender and brittle, if once broken or impeded in their progress, cease to grow; consequently, the plant, by being deprived of its due share of nourish- ment, will receive a check which will be very injurious to it, and, if many of the roots are so circumstanced, the foliage will begin to decay before it has performed its proper function. In preparing the bulbs for potting, all the fragments of the old roots, if any remain, should be re- moved, and also any loose skin that will part from the bulb freely, should be rubbed off. The pots should be very well drained, as, during their growth, a con- siderable quantity of water will be given them, which, if allowed to re- main stagnant in the mould, would be of serious consequence to the plants. Deep planting is to be avoided; therefore, placing the bulb only so far into the mould as to keep it in a steady perpendicular position, will be all that is requisite. AMARYLLIS. Some few of this extensive genus require the temperature of the stove, of which notice will be taken in the proper place. The majority, how- ever, of the species, and almost all the hybrids, will flower to admiration in the bulb house, and many of them even in the most ordinary green- house; while 4. Belladona, pumita, pudica, vittata, and several others, will fiower well in a warm border, protected during winter witha eae of moss, fern, or dry litter. “ The following excellent directions on the cultivation of this ‘eeiies and those most nearly related to them, have been laid down by the late Mr. Sweet, who had more experience in their culture than any man of his day. ‘The bulbs having been grown in frames and pits all the summer, were removed to the hot house in autumn, when they had ceased growing. They were then laid on shelves in the house, and as the leaves and roots began to decay, they were cleared away, that they might not injure the bulbs. As soon as the bulbs became dry and hard, some of them began to show flower, and others continued to do so all the winter and spring, seldom being less than a hundred, sometimes two or 144 THE BULB HOUSE. three hundred in flower together, when scarcely any other plant was in | bloom. As soon as they show for bloom, they should be potted, and the | sooner the better, as they draw up weak, and do not flower so well, if | allowed to remain too long after showing bloom. As soon as potted, | they must be placed in the hot house, [bulb house] giving them but little | 5 water at first, but as the pots get filled with roots, they will require a greater supply. The sorts that succeed best by turning out are 4. regine, | erocata, accuminata, rutila, fulgida, psittacina, and vittata, and all the | hybrids that have been produced from them. A. aulica, calyptrata, Selandrefiora, and reticulata, do not like turning out so well, as it is their if nature to continue growing all the year through, and the hybrid pro- ductions from those partake of the nature of their parents. They only require to be kept dry a considerable time in their pots, to make them flower, except any get sickly, or the mould gets soddened at their roots ; they should then be laid by to dry for a considerable time, or they will be apt to rot.” In regard to soil, Sweet remarks that, “4. reticulata and striatifolia, succeed best in light, turfy loam, rather more than one third of white sand, and the rest turfy peat; the use of the turfy soil is to keep it from binding or getting hard in the pots, which it will do if sifted fine: the fibres in the turfy soil also keep it open, that the roots may pass readily through it.” A. formossissima requires a rich soil, and may be advantageously cultivated if placed out in spring, and taken up and dried when the foliage is ripe. This species is perfectly hardy, and has flowered annually in a warm border in the Claremont gardens in spring, and occasionally again in autumn. In the greenhouse it requires a low temperature, and . also a season of perfect rest. This is a very common species, but it does not, to our knowledge, ever produce seeds in this country, not- withstanding the follen is both abundant and perfect, a circumstance also noticed by Mr. Herbert, who concludes that its semenation depends | upon some very nice adaptation of temperature and moisture. | In an extensive genus like Amaryllis—we speak of it here as originally constituted, without reference to its latter sub-divisions—there must of necessity be some difference in the cultivation, in consequence of the | several latitudes, altitudes, and situations in which they are found. | A. calyptratum has been found to flourish in a light soil, placed on the | hot house fiue, and kept growing all the year, but when transferred from | that situation into the green house, it languished and died. Psitfactnum, | and the hybrids between it and véttafum, are hardy greenhouse plants, | . a cP ai aa i nen eased ae panen ct areata clea amaccemeentaerainanatmianes atti, afin i _ — . eee Cn CLIVEA AND COBURGHIA. 145 requiring rest during the winter; in the stove they become weak, and finally cease to flower. Solandreflera and Stylosa are tender stove plants, requiring rest during the winter; Vittata is extremely hardy- flowering in the open borders, and also requiring rest in winter; Reticu- lata and Striatifolia are tender stove species, requiring ‘rest during win- ter; Eguestris is a native of the hottest parts of the globe, but will not long exist if kept in active excitement in the stove, however high the tem- perature may be; during its period of rest, 1t should be kept in a mede- rately cool place, and is even found to perfect its foliage if placed out of doors during summer. In regard to the culture of that splendid plant 4. Josephine, now Bruns- vigia Josephine, Mr. Herbert has the following remarks: “ As they sprout but once a-year, nothing can be done to accelerate their growth, beyend keeping them in a healthy, vigorous state; for which purpose, the bulb must be kept under ground, with the neck, perhaps, above ground ;”’ but of that he entertains great doubts. “If the whole bulb is exposed, it imbibes moisture from the atmosphere in the season of rest, which becomes fatal to it ; and I have found seedlings, of which the neck has never been raised above ground, in the safest state. A rich, light loam, and abundance of water in winter, with perfect rest and dry heat in summer, are necessary.” CLIVEA, Although not properly a bulbous-rooted plant, is so nearly related to them in habits and culture, that we are induced to place it amongst them in the bulb house. This plant, of which there is as yet only one species, is usually kept in the hot-house; but it is so hardy, that it may be kept per- fectly safe during winter ina cold pit, or frame. It is increased by separat- ing the roots, and also by seeds, which it produces freely. Although it does not shed its leaves, it still requires a season of rest, which commences soon after it has done flowering and while its seeds are ripening. It should then be but moderately supplied with water, and when potted, kept high in the pot. COBURGHIA. This genus, like the last, is also often injured by being kept im a stove temperature ; and hence, probably, is the cause of its being considered a L a AN (ge ee te —- ee 146 THE BULB HOUSE. shy fiowerer. The Bulb house, or even common greenhouse, is a much better temperature for it, and even in a cold pit protected from frosts during winter, they have flowered in full perfection. During the season of rest, this genus, of which there are as yet only two species, are better taken out of the pots and kept in paper bags until the season of planting arrives. Contrary to the generality of bulbous-rooted plants, this genus succeeds better in a strong, rich soil, than in one so light as suits the majority of other bulbs. They increase readily by offsets, and will flower in a warm border in the open air. GLORIOSA SUPERBA. This superb plant is not so frequently seen in flower in our plant houses as we could wish to see it, and this is entirely owing to the circumstance of cultivators paying too little attention to the principles of vegetable life. Every plant has two distinct states of existence, one of quietude and re- pose, and another of development and display. This is clearly illustrated amongst tropical plants, but in none more so than in the various genera of bulbous-rooted plants. An erroneous opinion has long very generally been entertained, and we regret to say, that with many the opinion is still entertained, that plants, natives of the tropics, require an undiminished temperature and humidity throughout the year, and the more plants shew the effects of their natural habits, the more do many cultivators endeavour to counteract them, by stimulating them to the utmost possible degree, thus endeavouring to keep them in a state of perpetual excitement, instead of allowing nature to take its due course, and give them their natural sea- son of repose. For the method of culture of Gloriosa superba—See Article on Culture of certain fine-flowering stove plants that require a mode of treatment different from the generality of tropical plants, which will be given uuder the section STOVES. CHLIDANTHUS. This genus, of which as yet there is but one species, succeeds best in a soil composed of sandy loam and peat; but not enriched by the addition of any kind of manure. When the leaves have ripened, and are falling off, the bulbs should then be placed in a dry, warm situation, where they may either remain in the pots, or be shaken out and kept in paper bags till they show signs of vegetation, when they should be again planted. Like CYRTANTHUS. 147 the Guernsey lily and other Amaryllisis, they flower before the leaves ap- pear ; therefore, instead of having water withheld from them as the flower fades, they should have it in abundance, as at that period the foliage begins to appear; and, as we have already observed of bulbs in general, every means should be used to encourage the full development of the leaves, for upon that depends, in a great measure, the perfection of the flowering of the plants the succeeding season. EUCROSIA. A light, turfy soil is best for this genus, into which the bulbs should not be deep set, and through its culture much less water is required than for most other plants of this tribe. ANTHOLYZA. This genus of Cape bulbs requires a light, rich soil. The bulbs should be annually taken up to separate the smaller ones from the larger, as the latter only will flower well. They might be kept in bags during their season of rest, and when planted, placed for a time in a cold pit, so as to be slowly excited into vegetation. BABIANA. The same treatment recommended for the last, will equally suit this genus. Both of them, including also the genus Ixia, Gladiolus, Lapey- rousia, Sparaxis, and some other Cape sorts, will succeed when planted out in a turf pit, or even in a moderately dry, warm border in the open air. CYRTANTHUS. This genus is often, like some others of which notice will be taken, very much injured by being always kept in a stove heat, and also by every means being taken to keep them in a constant state of excitement, when the _ very reverse ought to be the case. Instead of the great heat in which this L2 148 THE BULB HOUSE. genus is in general kept, it has been found to flower much better when planted in the open borders of an ordinary garden. A soil composed of light, sandy loam, peat, and leaf-mould, has been found to answer every expectation. During their season of rest, the roots must be kept dry in the pots, but not taken out of them. When they are just beginning to grow, shake them out of the old ball of mould, and re-pot them, when they will be found to flower in great perfection. While growing, and par- ticularly while in flower, they should have plenty of water. They are increased both by offsets and seeds, which, in well-grown plants, are pro- duced in abundance. Of the culture of this genus, Mr. Herbert says, that it is altogether difficult, the bulbs being more disposed to dwindle and rot, than to in- crease in bulk. A common greenhouse, he says, is too damp for it in win- ter, and the air of a stove too confined. On Mr. Herbert’s authority, we are informed, that Mr. Griffin cultivated C. obliguus very successfully by keeping the bulbs on a shelf very near the glass in his stove, where the heat was never great. “ A light soil,’ says Mr. Herbert, ‘‘which is not retentive of water, will be found to suit the whole genus; and [he thinks] that the use of peat will always be dangerous to them. Those with persistent leaves should be cautiously watered in winter, the deciduous species not at all. C. carneus is one of the most difficult to manage: I lost it twice,” says Mr. Herbert, ‘‘ notwithstanding the greatest care, and have at last succeeded in establishing one with better hopes, by giving it water very seldom the first year, and rather more after it had formed a strong leaf, keeping it as much as possible in a draft of air in the greenhouse. It is planted in a mixture of white sand, with a little light loam, with an open drain under. With respect to the other species, there is some peculiarity in the soil congenial to them, which is very difficult to analyze.” In the soil of Mitcham common, which is a light brown earth, with a little admixture of dead furze leaves, on a gravelly substratum, they grew admirably, while the soils to which he had afterwards access in York- shire, were altogether unsuitable to them. He concludes that light soils are less favourable to this family than those that are more disposed to set firm, and not fall to pieces when turned out of the pot, and that good drainage and cautious watering should be strictly attended to. EUCOMIS. This is a very hardy genus of bulbs, although net unfrequently found placed in the stove. It stands the most severe winters we have had of IXIA AND GLADIOLUS. 149 late years, with impunity, when planted in a warm and dry border. Itis - increased by offsets, which are produced in abundance. We believe it rarely seeds. GALAXTA, LAPEYROUSIA, AND BRODIZA, All succeed in a light, turfy, rather rich soil. They should be planted in large pots, and not more than two or three bulbs, at the most, placed in each. They require water regularly while in a growing state, but com- paratively little compared to the foregoing genera. They should be placed near the glass, and in a situation where the fullest ventilation can be ad- mitted to them. Indeed, they succeed better in a warm border, or turf-pit, than they do under the ordinary mode of management, by which they are one day deluged in water, and for several others are kept quite dry. Such extremes are bad for any plants: but for the more slender and weak-grow- ing bulbs it is certain destruction, for the foliage is prevented from attain- ing its full perfection, and without that be fully developed, no flowers need be looked for, and in the course of a year or two the bulbs will cease to exist. IXIA AND GLADIOLUS. These two charming genera of Cape bulbs deserve to be much more generally cultivated than they are at present. They breed freely by offset bulbs, are very hardy, and even succeed when planted in a warm border in the open air. Some species produce seeds, from which plants may be obtained; but unless the process of artificial fecundation has taken place, and the expectation of hybrid varieties be the object in view, we should say that it was not worth the trouble of originating from seeds, plants that propagate so freely by the root. Seedling plants would require the culti- vation of three or four years to bring them to a flowering state, while young offset bulbs will flower, in many cases, the year following. In planting both these genera, if planted in pots for house culture, they should be set very shallow in the mould. When the season of flowering is past, and the bulbs ripe, they should be taken out of the pots and kept dry in paper bags, or drawers, until the season of planting again returns. The bulbs at this time should also be arranged ; the larger and full-grown ones set apart for flowering, and the smaller ones kept to be planted in store _ pots, or in nursery beds, until they attain their full size. 150 THE BULB HOUS#H. OXALIS. This very interesting genus is equally hardy with the last, and will succeed as well in the greenhouse, plant pit, or out of doors in a favourable situa- tion. They are rapidly increased by offset bulbs; and for this reason should be taken out of the mould every season when the foliage has died down, for the purpose of being separated; for if the smaller roots be not removed from the full-grown ones, the latter will not flower freely. This genus flowers, when kept in the house, at an early period of the year, and is therefore a very fitting inhabitant of the bulb house, where they should occupy, with Jaia and other low-growing kinds, the front plat- forms, so that they may he near the light, exposed to the sun, and at the same time near the eye of the observer. They delight in a light, rich soil. LACHENALIA. This genus is very often, although improperly, placed in a stove tempe- rature. It succeeds better in a more moderate heat, and indeed will flower well in a close pit or warm frame. I¢ increases by offset bulbs freely, delights in a light, rich soil, and should remain all the year in the pots ; but these should be kept perfectly dry during the dormant season, that is, from the time the leaves begin to fade, until they begin to appear again in spring. : MASSONIA. This is rather a delicate Cape genus. They should be planted in small pots, in light, turfy soil, not over rich, and placed upon a dry, airy shelf, near to the glass. They do not, at any period of their growth, re- quire much water; but during their dormant period should be kept quite dry. MOREA. This is a genus not much cultivated : however, it deserves the attention of the flower gardener as a greenhouse plant. Its culture is similar to the last, only it is by no means so tender, nor so impatient of water. THE TUBEROSE AND CYCLAMEN. 151 POLYANTHUS. This is the well-known and fragrant tuberose ; a plant, it appears, cul- tivated since 1629. It is seldom that its culture succeeds with us so as to exist for many years; but the loss is the less, as we have an annual supply of roots imported from the south of Europe, and the warmer parts of North America, where the climate is better suited to it than the artificial one of our gardens. The tuberose was cultivated very successfully for many years in the open air of this country, among others, by the late Mr. Salisbury, who has detailed his practice in a very excellent communication to the Hort. Soc., and published in their Transactions, Vol. I. p. 53; the rationale of which is (and that is equally applicable to its culture under glass,) “to ob- tain a sufficient degree of heat during summer, to bring their leaves out to the full magnitude, that of the roots following of course.” He also recommends that the roots be kept growing as vigourously as possible from May to October, but in a state of complete rest and drought for the remainder of the year. _The usual mode of flowering this piant is, after procuring strong bulbs, to pot them in March or April, in rich, turfy loam, and to place them in a pit, or frame, in a strong humid heat, where they are kept, till they how the flower stems, after which they are placed in the hot house to perfect their flowers. But another, and much better mode, is to excite them in a moderate temperature in a pit, or frame, and when their flower stems appear, to remove them to a cool greenhouse, or bulb house, when they will flower in perfection, and, from being in a low temperature, will last much longer in bloom than if placed in a plant stove. The tuberose | is one of the few plants that will accommodate itself to a long absence from fresh air, and an excess of light; and hence, we find it last in flower, giving out its delightful perfume for a long period when kept in close rooms, halls, and similar situations. * CYCLAMEN. The roots or bulbs should be placed on, not in, the mould; for all the species of this genus, C. cowm excepted, which prefers a peaty soil, the mould should consist of equal parts of sandy loam, leaf-mould, and very rotten cow-dung ; the pots should be well drained, and not much larger than about twice the diameter of the bulb. They should be placed ina | | | SA 21 ene Rae RE a SS a 152 THE BULB HOUSE. light airy part of the bulb house, or cold pit, where they are merely pro- tected from frost ; for were they kept in a dark, cool, damp place, they would never flower, and the more valuable, such as C. repandum, would soon perish. About the month of June, the leaves die down; the bulbs should then be placed in a close, dry pit, and kept without water till August, at which period they should be shaken out of the pots and re- potted into fresh mould. On the culture of Cyclamen persicum, Mr. John Wilmot offers the following remarks :—“ As this plant blossoms early, I would advise assist- ing it with a little heat. Select a few pots, and place them in the stove in the beginning of February : they will soon show their blossom : remove them by degrees to their old quarter, the greenhouse, and select only those plants that are scented, some being much more so than others, [a fact, we believe, not generally known;] they will soon form their seed vessels, if assisted with plenty of air, and when you find the seed sufficiently ripe, sow it immediately in pans. The plants will appear in the autumn: let them remain in the greenhouse till the beginning of May; and, in removing the plants from the pans, you will find they have formed bulbs about the size of a pea, and some as large as a hazel nut. Prepare a bed for their reception, by digging and raking the soil to a fine mould, and cover the same over with about two inches of sifted loam, leaf-mould, or rotten dung, with a mixture of sandy peat. Plant the bulbs about six inches apart from each other, and let them be kept covered, either with hand glasses, or with hot-bed sashes, to protect them from the cold, and probable frosty nights, and in the day time admit what air is required, according to the state of the weather. About the middle of summer, when you apprehend no danger from frosty nights, the glasses may be taken away, as the plants will require no farther care than sufficiently watering them, if the season proves a dry one, as often as occasion may require. : “‘At the time you remove the greenhouse plants into the house, let the Cyclamen be taken carefully up and potted, one bulb in a smail pot. Fit the pot to the size of the plant, and be careful not to place a small plant in a large pot. The pot No. 60, for small ones, and No. 48, for the larger, will be sufficient; and if a fine growing summer succeeds, some of the bulbs will be two inches in diameter, and produce as much biossom as a plant two years old by the drying system. By this mode of cultiva- tion, a stock of that beautiful plant can easily be raised, and as time can be saved in the cultivation, without any additional expense or trouble, f trust I shall, in a short time, see it growing generally with that luxuriance VALLOTA, NERINE. 153 which I have often observed with pleasure in my garden, where I have frequently counted from fifty to eighty fine, strong, expanded blossoms, from a bulb two years old, growing in a forty-eight sized pot.’’— Gard. Mag., Vol. I., p. 387. WACHENDORFIA. This genus is nearly hardy enough to withstand our ordinary winters in the open borders. It is readily propagated by offsets, and succeeds in any ordinary good soil. When cultivated in pots, they should be large, for the roots are numerous, and occupy a considerable space. GRIFFINIA. This splendid genus has been hitherto considered both rare and difficult to flower. We suspect that the real cause is, that it is treated ike many other bulbs, which, because they do not flower annually, and under all circumstances of ordinary culture, are neglected and set by on shelves and out-of-the-way places, where they have no opportunity of developing their foliage, without which, as we have already repeatedly observed, no bulb can or will flower, nor will many of them long exist. Ima soil com- posed of light, rich, turfy loam, the pots well drained, the bulbs not set too deep in the mould, and then placed in a situation where it can enjoy abundance of light, air, and sunshine, and at the same time regularly watered, but not to excess, the foliage of Grifinia will attain its full magnitude, and this once being the case, flowers will follow, as a matter of course. VALLOTA, ZEPHYRANTHUS, AND NERINE, Have been separated by botanists from the original genus Amaryllis; the same mode of treatment is applicable to the majority of them. The culture of the Guernsey lily, Nerine sarniensis, in some respects differs from these. It is well known that they are successfully cultivated in the open air in the island from whence their name is derived, but how they found their way thither, from Japan, of which they are natives, is not so easily determined; be that as it may, we receive an abundant supply of their 154 THE BULB HOUSE. bulbs annually from that island, and they arrive in general during the months of July and August, with the fiower stems more or less advanced. When they are received, they should be immediately potted in thirty-two sized pots, in light, rich, turfy soil, and placed in a frame pit, or in front of a greenhouse, or the front platform of the bulb house, that they may enjoy plenty of light, air, and sunshine, which will improve the colour of the flowers greatly. If they be placed remote from the light, the fiowers will he of a very pale colour; but if brought more forward, they will attain their beautiful and deep pink colour, for which they are so deservedly admired. Water should be given moderately and regularly, and by such treatment they will continue in bloom till October or later. It is seldom that cultivators take the trouble to keep these bulbs beyond the period of flowering : some, however, have done so, and have produced flowers for several successive years. The following routine is recommended by a correspondent in the Horticultural Register, Vol. I., p. 695. “After the flowers have decayed, the green leaves will begin to shoot; and as on the perfection of the growth of these the future flowering of every bulb depends, it will be necessary to render them every possible assistance, and not, as is generally the case, thrust them under the stage in the greenhouse, stove, or any other place where they will be out of sight. The best method I know, is to make 2 hot-bed, and after having set on a frame, lay over the dung about a foot thick of the same compost they were potted in, then turn out each pot of bulbs with the ball perfect, for if these are broken, their growth will be much retarded. Shelter them frem the severity ef winter, and give them water and air as they require it, until the bulbs are ripe, then keep the soil perfectly dry. By this treatment, many will bloom the second year with great vigour. As soon as the flower stems begin to show, take them up with a trowel so as not te injure the small fibres that are starting, and pot them, being careful to remove none but those showing flowers. If they were allowed to stand on the bed for two years, and could be kept warm through the second winter, they would bloom finer than those that are imported.” The observations cf Thomas Andrews Knight, Esq. on this subject, are so replete with sound sense and excellent practical directions, that we are disposed to give them at length, particularly as they do not entirely refer to the Guernsey lily in particular, but to the majority of bulbous- rooted plants flowering in the same manner and at the same season. “‘ Bulbous roots increase in size, and proceed in acquiring powers to produce blossoms, only during the periods in which they have leaves, and in which such leaves are exposed to light ; and these organs always operate GUERNSEY LILY. 155 most efficiently when they are young, and have just attained their full growth. The bulb of tne Guernsey lily, as is usually cultivated in this country, rarely produces leaves till September, or the beginning of October, at which period the quantity of light afforded by our climate is probably quite insufficient for a plant, which is said to be a native of the warm and bright climate of Japan; and before the return of spring, its leaves are necessarily full grown, and nearly out of office, even when they have been safely protected from frost during the winter. Is it, therefore, not extra- ordinary, that a bulb of this species, which has once expended itself in producing flowers, should but very slowly recover the power of blossoming again? Considering, therefore, the deficiency of light and heat, owing to the late period of its vegetation, as the chief cause why this plant so often fails to produce flowers, I inferred, that nothing more would be re- quired to make it blossom as freely, at least, as it does in Guernsey, than such a slight degree of artificial heat applied early in summer, as would prove sufficient to make the bulhs vegetate a few weeks earlier than usual in the autumn. Early in the summer of 1816, a bulb which had blossomed in the preceding autumn was subjected to such a degree of artificial heat, as occasioned it to vegetate six weeks, or more, earlier than it would other- wise have done. It did not, of course, produce any flowers; but in the following season it blossomed early and strongly, and afforded two offsets ; these were put into pots in the spring of 1818, containing about one-eighth of a square foot of light, rich mould, and were fed with manured water, and the period of their vegetation was again accelerated by artificial heat. Their leaves, consequently, grew yellow from maturity early in the present spring, when the pots were placed in a rather shaded situation near a north wall, to afford me an opportunity of observing to what extent, in such a situation, the early production of the leaves, in the preceding season, had changed the habit of the plant. I entertained no doubt but that both the bulbs would produce blossoms, but I was much gratified by the appearance of the blossoms in the first week in July. From the success of the pre- ceding experiment, I conclude, that if the offsets, and probably the bulbs of this plant which had produced flowers, be placed in a moderate hot- bed in the end of May, to occasion the early production of their leaves, blossoms would be constantly afforded in the following season ; but it will be expedient to habituate the leaves thus produced gradually to the open air, as soon as they are nearly fully grown, and to protect them from frost till the approach of spring.” The whole routine of culture required for the genus Nerine, may be conveyed in the following rules :—Encourage a vigourous growth of leaf |, THE BULB HOUSE. during the autumn ; the requisites being, warmth enough to excite them, and ventilation sufficient to prevent their being drawn up weak. During the winter, their foliage must be protected against frost and drouth. About May they should be gradually ripened, by withholding water from them ; and in August or the beginning of September, their growth should be promoted by its application. WN. ducida appears to differ from the rest, by continuing to grow all the year. BRUNSVIGIA. In this genus, we have another instance of the absurdity of keeping such plants in the stove temperature ; and, as a consequence, it is seldom they produce their bloom,—at least, the most splendid of the genus. The soil they seem to prefer, is arich, light, turfy loam, with a mixture of peat, sand, and completely decomposed dung. As the roots of the bulbs grow to a large size, it is proper that they should have large pots, because large bulbs always send down numerous strong roots to collect sufficient food for the flowers and foliage. Some cultivators, in planting this genus, make a hole in the mould, into which they lay a little white sand, on which the bulb is to be set, and also round its sides, to keep it from coming in con- tact with the mould; but this we think is superfluous ; we would rather plant the bulb high, that is, set it almost on the surface of the mould, for they are often injured by being too deeply planted. Give little water at first, but after vegetation has commenced, water should be given in great abundance, and continued while the foliage is making, and while the plants are in flower. After that period, they must be kept dry till the returning season. It is better to keep the bulbs of this genus in the pots during the season of rest, than to take them out, and the best situation for them during that period will be under the platform, recommended in the early part of this article. HEMANTHUS. This is a very showy genus when in flower, a state in which they are seldom seen, principally in consequence of being kept in a continual stove heat. Few bulbous-rooted plants are more hardy, requiring only the temperature of a pit, frame, or ordinary greenhouse. It appears that of this genus the species rotundifolius, maculatus, pumilio, hyalocarpus, and ALSTREMERIA. 157 carneus, prefer a light, sandy soil, mixed with peat, whereas the species orbicularis, crassipes, and some others, prefer a strong loamy soil. They require a moderate supply of water while growing, but during their season of rest they should be kept dry, but not taken out of the pots until the season approaches, when they are beginning to grow, when they, like all other bulbs, must be re-potted into fresh mould. AH. mulzijiorus is an exception tc the above rule, for it requires a strong heat to flower it well. ALSTREMERIA. This splendid genus, chiefly natives of Chili, will all thrive and flower in the fullest perfection in a warm, shelterea border in the open air. Their singularity of form and beauty of colouring, however, demand for them a place in the bulb house, which is the most suitable for their culture, as they associate better in appearance with bulbous-rooted plants than with any other. A rich, light, loamy soil is the most proper for them; and when culti- vated in pots they should be of large dimensions, as their roots are nu- merous, large, and very impatient of restraint. Most of them ripen seeds freely, from which abundance of young plants can be obtained; but the most ready and expeditious mode of multiplying them, is by dividing the roots when potted or planted out in spring. The older species of this genus, viz., 4. ligtu and pelegrina, were long considered shy-flowering plants ; the reason was, they were treated as stove plants, and the too fre- quent error fallen into of keeping them constantly in a state of excite- ment. Ali plants of this genus, like bulbous-rooted plants in general, should have a period of rest, and that commences when the foliage has been fully developed, the flowers faded, and the seeds matured: at which time water should be gradually withheld, and durimg the period of their repose they should be kept quite dry. This family are chiefly natives of Alpine situations, consequently they require to be cultivated in an airy, dry situation, and where the roots can be protected from severe frost during winter. During the season of their growth, they can hardly be too liberally supplied with water, but while in an inactive state, are to be kept quite dry. The whole of our collection, amounting to thirteen species and vdrieties, have flowered most abundantly and splendidly, planted in a narrow border in front of a plant stove, and some duplicate plants have even flowered in the borders in the open gar- den: the only protection they had during the winter of 1836-7, when the 158 THE BULB HOUSE. thermometer indicated twelve degrees of frost, was a thin covering of moss and dry fern laid over them, They require to be examined in spring, as slugs are apt to attack them, and if not prevented or removed, would soon devour them. This evil can always be easily guarded against, either by watering the bed with lime water occasionally, or by picking them off when they appear. The tubers should be planted rather deep than otherwise, which is both a protection against excessive drought as well as severe frost. The Hon. and Rev. William Herbert found it advantageous to cover the bed in spring with saw dust, which the slugs do not like to crawl over, and also because it keeps the mould much moister by lessening evaporation. = ze rx =] HRS aa NRE EOS RS EERE SN T || oxcseaa EP as SHR S ks eee | Voges SOE Dee : Pater iZ Gaga MoS hPL =, ae, ih y Bee OKO Fi Xe Tes Hog Ve ee oe 3 \g é nS. EE < > a s3 -< 3F ) Lae] es ro ed oh Sit eg 228 THE MIXED GREENHOUSE. cina.) Flowers in March and Au- gust, in common loam. Seeds. Capitate Mallow. (Malva capitata.) Flowers in November and December, in common loam. Seeds. Marsh Melaleuca. (Melaleuca palu- dosa.) Flowers in July and August, in sand, loam, and peat. Cuttings. Handsome Protea. (Protea formosa.) Flowers in May and June, in peat and loam. Seeds. Neat Protea. ( Protea pulchella. ) Flowers in March and August, in sand and loam. Layers. Stipulated Muraltia. (Muraltia stipu- lacea.) Flowers in April and Sep- tember, in sandy loam. Cuttings. Pubescent Struthiola. ( Struthiola pubescens.) Flowers in April and August, in sandy loam. Cuttings. Sweet-scented Nerium. (Nerium odo- rum.) Flowers in July and August, inrich mould. Layers. Mediate Spherolobium. ( Spherolo- bium medium.) Flowers in January and August, in sandy peat. Cut- tings. Scented Clerodendrum. ( Cleroden- drum odoratum.) Flowers in No- vember and December, in sandy peat. Cuttings. Cochinchinese St. John’s Wort. (Hy- pericum cochinchinense.) Flowers in July and August, in common mould. Cuttings. SCARLET. From one to three feet high. Decussated Beaufortia. (Beaufortia decussata.) Flowers in May and July, in sandy peat. Cuttings. Keel-leaved Beaufortia. (Beaufortia carinata.) Flowers in May and July, in sandy peat. Cuttings. Three-leaved Bouvardia. (Bouvardia triphylla.) Flowers in April and November, in sandy peat. Cuttings. Club - leaved Calothamnus. ( Calo- thamnus clavata.) Flowers in July and September, in sandy peat. Cut- tings. Scarlet Gaura. ( Gaura coccinea. ) Flowers in August and October, in sandy loam. Seeds. Mexican Sage. (Salvia Mexicana.) Flowers in May and July, in peat and loam. Cuttings. Scarlet- flowered Sage. (Salvia coc- cinea.) Flowers in April and Octo- ber, in peat and loam. Cuttings. Pretty Sage. (Salvia pulchelia.) Flow- ers in October and February, in ¢ sandy peat. Cuttings. Resupinate Coral Tree. (Krythrina resupinata.) Flowers in January and September, in rich mould. Cut- tings. Handsome Lechenaultia. ( Lechen- aultia formosa.) Flowers in June, in peat andloam. Cuttings. From three to six feet high. Four-cleft Calothamnus. (Calotham- nus quadrifida..) Flowers in July and September, in sandy peat. Cut- tings. Villous Calothamnus. (Calothamnus viliosa.) Flowers in July and Sep- tember, in sandy peat. Cuttings. Slender-leaved Calothamnus. (Caio- thamnus gracilis.) Flowers in July and September, in sandy peat. Cut- tings. Scarlet Lantana. (Lantana coccinea.) Flowers in June and September, in peat and loam. Cuttings. Cafirarian Coral Tree. ( Erythrina caffra.) Flowers in August and Oc- tober, in loam and peat. Seeds. Fragrant Mallow. (Malva fragrans.) Flowers in May and July, in sandy peat. Cuttings. Pine - leaved Stenanthera. (Stenan- thera pinifolia.) Flowers in May and July, in sandy peat. Cuttings. Splendid Melaleuca. (Melaleuca ful- gens.) Flowers in July and Septem- ber, in sand, loam, and peat. Cut- tings. wat Lily - flowered Hibiscus. ( Hibiscus liliifiorus.) Flowers in June and July, in sandy peat. Cuttings. | Spotted Stenochilus. ( Stenocirilus maculatus.) Flowers in April and May, in sandy peat. Cuttings. _ Long-leaved Stenochilus. (Stenochilus SELECT LIST OF GREENHOUSE PLANTS. 229 longifolius. Flowers in April and Buffalo Burchellia. (Burchellia buba- July. insandy peat. Cuttings. lina.) Flowers in May and June, in Splendid Sage. (Salvia splendens. ) rich mould. Cuttings. Flowers in October and January, in Cape Burchellia. (Burchellia capensis.) common loam. Cuttings. Flowers in March, in peat and loam. Scarlet Protea. (Protea coccinea. ) Cuttings. Flowers in March and August, in sandy loam. Seeds. PURPLE. From one to three feet high. Jasmine-like Chironia. (Chironia jas- Flowers in July and August, in peat minoides.) Flowers in Apriland July, and loam. Cuttings. in peat andloam. Cuttings. Purple Lantana. (Lantana purpurea.) Lychnis - like Chironia. ( Chironia Flowers in June and September, in lychnoides.) Flowers in May and peat andloam. Cuttings. July, in sandy peat. Cuttings. Purpurascent Crotalaria. (Crotalaria Neat Cineraria. (Cineraria pulchelia.) purpurascens.) Flowers in July and Flowers in February and May, in August, in sandy loam. Seeds. sandy peat. Cuttings. Small-petaled Cuphea. (Cuphea mi- Bloody-leaved Cineraria. (Cineraria cropetala.) Flowers in July and cruenta.) Flowers in February and August, in sandy loam. Cuttings. May, in peat andloam. Cuttings. | Spotted-stalked Gloxinia. (Gloxinia Dark-flowered Erinus. (Erinus tristis.) | maculata.) Flowers in July and Oc- Flowers in May and June,insandy | _ tober, in sandy peat. Cuttings. loam. Cuttings. | Long-leaved Protea. (Protea longi- Splendid Protea. (Protea speciosa.) | folia.) Flowers in March and Au- Flowers in Marchand June,insandy | gust,in sandy loam. Seeds. loam. Seeds. | Showy Mirbelia. (Mirbelia speciosa.) Dark-purple Bird’s-foot Trefoil. (Zo- | Flowers in May and July, in sand, _ €us atropurpureus.) Flowers in loam, and peat. Cuttings. April and December, in sandy loam. | Large-flowered Mirbelia. ( Mirbdelia Cuttings. grandiflora.) Flowers in May and Cape Virgilia. (Virgilia capensis.) June, in peat andloam. Cuttings. From three to six feet high. Proud Viper’s Bugloss. (Echium fas- | sonia coronillifolia.) Flowers in July tuosum.) Flowers in April and Au- | and August, in sandy peat. Cuttings gust, in sandy loam. Cuttings. and seeds. Purple Thomasia. (Thomasia purpu- | Pleasing purple-coloured Indigo. (In- rea.) Flowers in April and July, in digoferaamena.) Flowersin March sandy peat. Cuttings. | _ and April, in sandy peat. Cuttings. Showy Milkwort. (Polygala speciosa.) | Mixed Muraltia. (Muraltia mirta.) Flowers in March and October, in | Flowers all the year, in sandy peat. Sandy peat. Cuttings. | Cuttings. Fine-leaved Milkwort. (Polygalatenui- | Diffuse Muraltia. (Muraltia diffusa.) folia. Flowersin Apriland June,in | Flowers all the year, in sandy peat. sandy peat. Cuttings. | Cuttings. Coronilla-leaved Swainsonia. (Swain- | PINE. From one to three feet high. Cape Aitonia. ( Aitonia capensis. ) Suffruticose Flax. (Linum suffruticosa.) Flowers in April and September, in Flowers in August, in peat and loam. Tich mould. Cuttings. Cuttings. 230 THE MIXED GREENHOUSE. PINK. From three to six feet high. Thyrse-fiowered Ardisia. (Ardisia thyrsifiora.) Flowers all the year, in peat and loam. Cuttings. Pleasing Gardenia. (Gardenia amena.) Flowers in July and August, in loam and peat. Cuttings. Dilated-leaved Mirbelia. (Mirbelia dilatata.) Flowers in May and Au- gust, in sand, loam, and peat. Cut- tings. Five-flowered Enkanthus. (Enkanthus quingueflora.) Flowers in February and September, in loam and peat. Cuttings. Netted Enkanthus. (HEnkanthus re- ticulata.) Flowers in January and February, in peat and loam. Cut- tings. Great-flowered Viper’s Bugloss. (Echi- um grandifiorum.) Flowers in June and July, in sandy peat. Seeds. Shrubby Viper’s Bugloss. (Echium Sruticosum.) Flowers in May and June, in peat and loam. Cuttings. Maple-leaved Hibiscus. ( Hibiscus acerifolius. Flowers in March and June, in sandy loam. Cuttings. ORANGE. From one to three feet high. Silvery Hermannia. (Hermannia ar- gentea.) Flowers in May and July, in loam and peat. Cuttings. Baxter’s Lechenaultia. (Lechenaultia Baxteri.) Flowers in April and July, in peat andloam. Cuttings. From three to six feet high. Flame-flowered Hermannia. (Hermannia fiammea.) Flowers all the year, in loam and peat. Cuttings. BROWN. From one to three feet high. Rufous Anigozanthus. (Anigozanthus rufa.) Flowers in May and Septem- ber, in loam and peat. Division. Mangles’s Anigozanthus. (Anigozan- thus Manglesii.) Flowers in May and June, in loam and peat. — Divi- sion. St. James’s Island Lotus. (Lotus Jaco- beus.) Flowers all the year, in rich mould. Cuttings. BLUE. From one to three feet high. Smooth - stalked Viper’s Bugloss. (Echium levigatum.) Flowers in July and August, in sandy loam. Cuttings. Involucred Psoralea. (Psoralea invo- lucrata.) Flowers in June and July, in peat andloam. Cuttings. Axillary-flowered Psoralea. (Psoralea axillaris.) Flowers in June and July, in sandy peat. Cuttings. Hairy Gloxinia. (Gloxinia hirsuta.) Flowers in June and August, in sandy peat. Division of the roots. Cape Leadwort. (Plumbago capensis.) Flowers in November, in loam and peat. Cuttings. . Filiform Roella. (Roella filiformis.) Flowers in June and September, in loam and peat. Seeds. Willow -leaved Angelonia. (Ange- lonia salicariefolia.) Flowers in Au- gust, in common loam. Cuttings. SELECT LIST OF GREENHOUSE PLANTS. 2a1 BLUE. From three to six feet high. Vioiet-coloured Prostanthera. (Pros- | Silvery Viper’s Bugloss. (Echium tanthera violacea.) Flowers in May argenteum.) Flowers in July and and August, in sandy peat. Cut- August, in peatand loam. Seeds. ~* tings. African Red Wood. (Ceanothus afri- Toothed Prostanthera. (Prostanthera canus.) Flowers in March and April, denticulata.) Flowers in June and in peat and loam. Cuttings. August, in sandy peat. Cuttings. To | TH) THE CONSERVATORY. THE Conservatory differs from the greenhouse only in the plants of the former being in general planted out into beds prepared for them, while those of the latter are always kept in pots and placed upon stages. The general intention of the former is also to contain large or fine specimens, while in the latter the plants are usually, and always ought to be, kept pretty small, and young by repeated propagation. The most proper situa- tion for the conservatory is either in the flower-garden, where it should be a detached structure, or adjoining to the mansion, of which it may be said to form a part. The principal object to be kept in view should be the admittance of abundance of air and light. For the former purpose all the sashes ought to be made moveable, so that the roof and sides may be taken away at pleasure, and for the latter the house, if not glass on all sides, at least the front and ends should be so. The most absurd and extravagant notions have been entertained of what a first-rate conservatory. ought to be; structures have been projected covering several acres of ground, and of a capacity almost sufficient to admit of the tallest exotics attaining CONSERVATORY AT THE GRANGE. 233 their native size. Building glass-houses so lofty, as we have already ob- served, we cannot approve of; for were expense no consideration, and were it possible to secure them against the effects of wind, which it is not, the plants when first planted would be so far from the glass that they would soon become drawn up, and, however lofty the house may be, they would endeavour to reach the top, while their lower paris would present only slender naked’ stems, presenting no beauty whatever. The idea of exli- biting exotic trees of their full size in this country is absurd, and can answer no useful end, even if practicable. If exotics are well cultivated in houses not exceeding twenty or twenty-five feet in height, all that is reasonably expected from them may be obtained. Tr AIS ie gale ih Sade le HSE | SH HERO === Elevation of the Conservatory at the Grange. The dimensions of the Conservatory at the Grange, in Hampshire, one of the seats of Lord Ashburton, the interior of which is represented at the head of this section, and which was designed by C. R. Cockerell, Esq., is seventy feet in length, forty-six feet wide, and twenty-one feet high. The situation of this spacious area is adjoining the apartments dedicated to the ladies, the windows of whose apartments are directed towards the Conservatory. This house, in regard to architectural and horti- cultural proportions, two important points in similar structures, but seldom agreeing together, or with a due regard to the various bearings of situa- tion and circumstances, is, in our opinion, the most complete thing of the kind that we have seen, eitherMin this country or on the continent. We do not object to the extent of area covered with glass for conservatory purposes when the height does not exceed twenty-five feet, where the proprietor chooses to display his taste and spend his fortune in such rational luxuries, but it is when greater height is attempted that we object to them, as being both extravagant and useless. A glance at the These which also columns are highly ornamented with mouldings, and have wires fastened house, will at once show how easy it would be, where expense is a secondary consideration, to cover any extent of ground, and to have an exotic garden in which perpetual spring could be main- tained. The roof, which in this example is double, and which might be continued to any. ex- tent, is supported by cast-iron hollow columns, a a, carry off the water which falls on the roof, into drains properly placed for its reception, as at g, and which, after supplying an im- mense reservoir under the ground for the supply of the house, as well as for use in the event of fire, or any other scarcity of water, empties the remainder beyond the limits of the buildings. ta ee ORs SLC SEE VERE AA SSSR ETE THE CONSERVATORY. ae SSSA IESE ESSE Ss SSSSSIIHN 7 > which represents the section of the above splendid ? annexed diagram deem Y Y Y 4 4 a) > 4 4 y Ya YA ( vei V i Ay y "7, r fi TAY HUA LY Y Ue TZ) 7 ELEVATION OF A CONSERVATORY. 235 to them, as at e, for the purpose of training creeping plants to them. The back and front walks, e e, are four feet nine inches broad, and the centre, or principal one, c, six feet and a half. These walks are covered with an arched roof, formed of double plates of rolled iron, fff, between which is left a space of two inches, which confines a stratum of air, to prevent the escape of heat, or the admission of cold. Over these plates | is placed an iron grating for a safe walk, to enable the operatives to repair the glass, give air, &c. This house was heated in a peculiar manner by Mr. Sylvester, either steam or hot water being applicable to that purpose ; the pipes being placed under the walks, as at 6 0 4, and the cavity a a served as a reservoir for containing heated air, which was admitted into the house as required. In regard to form and size, very much ought to be left to the taste of the owner; we would only here remark, that all curvilinear shapes, par- ticularly roofs, are objectionable, on account of the great extra expense in their erection, and the difficulty of ventilating them thoroughly. The annexed elevation, sections, and ground-plan represent what we consider to be another very good model of a Conservatory, upon a differ- ent principle; and as such a house really exists, and has been found to answer every purpose intended, we therefore offer it with the greater confidence. rr HY TAC EEO Reo 40 30 £0. The length of this house is forty feet, eighteen feet wide, and eighteen high, The ground plan shows it as heated by two furnaces, one placed at each end of the back part; the flues, which are under the floor, pass towards the front, and parallel to it, until they meet in the middle of the house, ane Se eee ae ot eer om ae aca — eae iS eal tee: Me 6S mins { THE CONSERVATORY. 236 cross towards the back wall, and the smoke of both escapes in one chimney, or a hot-water boiler being placed in the centre . when they both SS | WW gr Sg jt SRQEIOIOI.. Ss EL EAWEE: 30 20 of the back wall would answer equally well, the pipes extending both to the right hand and to the left, in the same situation as the flues are The heat, whether from flues or hot-water pipes, is admitted into the house through ventilators placed in the floor, which can be shown. SS i IN GGG SS ee ee ee = ~ he 7 patees A ee ee ee ee = The floor is paved with stone, and on it is set the plants, which should be large and well-grown specimens, planted opened and shut at pleasure. PLAN OF A CONSERVATORY. 237 either in large vases, of which the annexed are examples, pots, boxes, or tubs; but these latter should be of the ornamental sort, and when small specimens grown in common flower pots are introduced, these may be set in vases, or in highly ornamental flower stands. It is the usual method of arranging conservatory plants, to plant them in beds of mould prepared for them, but by this means they soon grow too large, and the coarser, and often the most worthless, grow up rapidly and destroy the more rare and valuable, which frequently are of much more slender habits. Conservatory plants planted in beds, not only grow too luxuriantly, and aiter two or three years require to be reduced in size by severe pruning, or removed altogether, but they do not flower so well as they would do in pots of a proper size, neither can they be removed in case of sickness, or at those periods when they are out of flower, or set in the open air during summer. We admit that boxes, tubs, vases, &c., be they ever so ornamental, will be objectionable if in too great a number, or of too large a size. To remedy this objection, the floor may be hollow and covered with a neat orna-_ . mental iron grating, instead cf pavement, made in convenient pieces, so as to admit of the larger boxes, tubs, &c., being placed under it, and haying the smaller plants in vases, distributed through the house, so as to produce the most elegant and pleasing effect. To those, however, who prefer to plant out their Conservatory plants in a permanent bed, the following observations may be useful. The whole interior of the house should be excavated to the depth of four feet : below this depth, and in the centre of the bed or beds, a drain (vide cross section, page 234,) should be made, to permit the superfluous water to escape: over this drain, and also over the whole surface of the floor of the beds, a layer of broken stones, flints, brick- bats, or similar matter, should be laid to the depth of ten or twelve inches, upon which the mould for the plants to grow in should * be placed. In proceeding to prepare the bed, it will be well to com- «mence by placing a layer of turf, previously prepared, by being cut and dried so as to become sweetened, but not rotted so as to fall in pieces. The intention of this layer of turf is to prevent the finer particles of the compost soil from being washed down into the drainage below. This turf should be placed with the grassy side undermost, and closely jointed and beat down. Upon this the following compost soil should be laid, and which should have been in a state of preparation several months 238 THE CONSERVATORY. previous, by being frequently turned over, mixed, and sweetened,—light yellow loam and sandy peat in equal parts, excepting where camellias or oranges are intended to be planted. Should the loam rather incline to be strong, or the peat deficient of a proper portion of sand, then both deficiencies may be readily made up by the addition of a sufficient por- tion of fine, sharp river sand. The beds being filled with the above com- post, regularly and moderately trodden down during the operation of filling, are then ready for the reception of the plants. We need hardly remind the most inexperienced that the mould shouid be as dry as possible at the time it is put into the beds, and also that a proper allow- ance of depth be allowed for settlement, which will be more or less, according to the manner in which it is trodden down during the opera- tion. For a bed of the above depth an allowance of about six inches will in most cases be found sufficient, and indeed it is hetter always that the conservatory beds should appear rather high and full than low and under the floor level, a defect which cannot be readily rectified after- wards, as any attempt to raise it by the addition of more mould would bury the roots of the plants too deep, a circumstance greatly to be guarded against. In Conservatories where oranges or camellias are intended to be planted out, a difference of soil is absolutely necessary, because for the former it can scarcely be too strong and rich if sufficiently porous to admit of extra humidity passing freely through it, and for the latter, a mellow, light, rather rich loam is to be prefered. Were either of these plants to occupy the whole bed of a conservatory, the required soil could be readily afforded them ; but as they in general are only introduced as part of conservatory collections, it will be better to plant them in groups, either along the back of the bed, or at its ends, as circumstances and the good taste of the owner may suggest ; in either case the soil should be adapted to them, which it could not be done so well if they were planted indiscriminately amongst the other plants. In regard to the management of Conservatory plants, the whole may be included in afew words. Air cannot be too freely admitted to them even during winter, so that the temperature does not fall below forty degrees, nor should it be by any means allowed to exceed fifty degrees by artificial means. This may be said to be the great art of growimg Con- servatory plants well. In regard to water, where the trees are planted out, great caution must be paid that they neither become too cry at the roots, or soddened with an excess of it. When kept in large pots, vases, or APPLICATION OF WATER. 239 boxes, which is certainly the most eligible plan, there is much less danger in falling into either extreme, and the evil, should it even exist, is much easier rectified. Frequent watering by the application of the syringe is beneficial in a twofold light: it imitates both rain and wind, first by refreshing and cleansing the foliage and branches, and by the movement which the force of the water causes, strengthens and invigorates the shoots and stems. During summer, this species of watering should be applied twice or thrice a week, and during winter, in mild weather, once a week or fortnight. Much has been said upon the advantages of intro- ducing perforated pipes through the roof for the purpose of supplying water to the leaves and branches; but, however beneficial or economical this plan may be when used in large houses in which tropical plants are grown, certain it is that the same beneficial effects would not be realised in any house in which plants of more temperate climates are cultivated. In respect to the majority of tropical plants, water can scarcely be given in too great abundance, because it is accompanied with a proportional degree of heat; but the case is wholly different with greenhouse and conservatory plants, which are more often injured by an excess than by a want of that element. | For the proper distribution of water over the leaves and branches of Conservatory plants, it will he necessary to be provided with a small port- able water engine, and those of John Reads, 35, Regent’s Circus, Piccadilly, may he recommended with confidence. The annexed figures represent 240 THE CONSERVATORY. two small portable engines, that may be used by a lady with the greatest ease: they are placed in a pail, or common watering-pot of water, and dis- charge their stream from a powerful current to a gentle dew-fall. The same ingenious engineer has also invented another useful engine for similar purposes, which is fixed in a six-gallon tub, or vessel. By this engine, a column of water may be thrown to a distance of from forty or fifty feet. The valves of this latter machine being of solid metal, it can never get out of repair, at least for many years, if not wan- tonly or carelessly destroyed. Either of these we should say is indispensable in a Conservatory, and is neither of them expensive to purchase. . With the exception of climbing plants, we should prefer to see all others grown in boxes, tubs, vases, or pots, according to their various sizes, kinds, and habits. Much judgment is required in the judicious selection of Conservatory plants, and it will be found that a much happier effect can be produced by a well chosen few than by a heterogeneous mixture of many species. If the intention be to have a profusion of bloom through as long a period of the year as possible, then fine, free-flowering kinds, not of very robust habits, should be chosen, and these which flower early in spring, through the summer, autumn, and even in winter, should be studied. Too many of one genus should not be introduced, as producing much less variety, neither should too many of any!particular colour be admitted, for the very same reason. Great attention should be paid to procure, in the first instance, as perfect specimens as possible, and that these should be kept in that state by being allowed plenty of room, and frequently turned towards the points from which most light proceeds. Some discrimination is also necessary in their arrangement, so that all delicate and sun-loving plants be placed in front, while those that can dispense with solar influence for a longer period, or can accommodate themselves to its partial absence, should be placed in the rear, middle, or in those situations farthest from the light. An attention to cleanliness is absolutely necessary, even for the welfare of the plants, independently of the appearance of the house. All deceased, sickly, or deformed plants should be excluded from this ° kind of structure, and the very operations of watering, cleansing, and arranging should be carried on early in the morning, or late in the evening, so that during the day the whole may produce at all times a perfect whole, and be as fit for the inspection of the owner as his drawing-room or picture-gallery. SPECIMENS OF VASES. 241 The Conservatory, being the highest in grade of all plant-structures, requires the greatest nicety and care in keeping; a dead leaf, insect, or broken or displaced branch should at no time appear. The propagation of Conservatory plants, so as to secure a succession, is a work of some importance, and will require to be performed at various seasons, as the cuttings should be put in just when the young shoots begin to assume a ripe, brownish colour, and are acquiring a firm texture. There are, however, many species of plants which cannot be propagated by cuttings, but which must either be increased by grafting, budding, layering, inarch- ing, or by the more natural method of sowing the seeds. There are also many kinds which may be propagated by dividing the roots. The plants which should be admitted into the Conservatory may be selected from those already enumerated in the foregoing pages, and from amongst them a very complete selection may be formed. R Wing-stalked Acacia. bo bo SELECT LIST OF CONSERVATORY PLANTS. *.* Those marked (*) are already enumerated in the Mixed Greenhouse, Heathery, §c. (Acacia alata.) Flowers in Apri] and June, in sandy loam and peat. Cuttings, but much better by seeds. *Deceiving Acacia. (Acacia decipiens.) Hatchet-shaped-leaved Acacia. (dAca- cia dolabriformis.) Flowersin April and July, in sandy loam and peat. Cuttings and seeds. Simple-leaved-armed Acacia. (Acacia armata.) Flowers in Apriland June, in sandy loam and peat. Cuttings and seeds. *Pendulous Acacia. (Acacia pendula.) Juniper-leaved Acacia. (dAcacia juni- perina.) Flowers in March and June, in sandy loam and peat. Cuttings and seeds. Brown’s Acacia. (Acacia Brownii.) Flowers in March and August, in sandy loam and peat. Cuttings and seeds. *Prostrate Acacia. (Acacia prostrata.) *Clammy -leaved Acacia. ( deacia vUSCOSQ). Daviesia-leaved Acacia. (Acacia Da- viesiafolia.) Flowers in May and July,in sandy loam and peat. Cut- tings and seeds. Reed-leaved Acacia. (Acacia calami- folia.) Flowers in May and June, in sandy loam and peat. Cuttings and seeds. Hooked-leaved Acacia. (Acacia un- cinata.) Flowers in April and June, in sandy loam and peat. Cuttings and seeds. *Yew -leaved Acacia. (Acacia tazi- folia.) *Cyclopis-like Acacia. (deacia Cy- elopis.) i } i | YELLOW. *Kindred Acacia. (Acacia affinis.) Heavy-smelling Acacia. (deacia gra- veolens.) Flowers in April and June, in sandy loam and peat. Seeds. Impressed Acacia. (Acacia impressa.) Flowers in April and June, in sandy loam and peat. Cuttings and seeds. Clothed Acacia. (Acacia vestita. ) Flowers in April and July, in sandy loam and peat. Seeds. Sweet-scented Acacia. (Acacia smeri- olens.) Flowers in February and June, in sandy loam and peat. Cnui- tings and seeds. Whitened Acacia. (Acacia dealbaéa.) Flowers in March and June, in sandy loam and peat. Cuttings and seeds. Whorl-leaved Acacia. (Acacia verti- cillata.) Flowers in March and May, in sandy loam and peat. Cuttings and seeds. Sharp-cedar Acacia. ( Acacia oxy- cedrus.) Flowers in April and June, in sandy loam and peat. Cuttings and seeds. Longest-leaved Acacia. (deacia lon- gissima.) Flowers in May and June, in sandy loam and peat. Cuttings and seeds. Bundle-flowered Acacia. (Acacia fiori- bunda.) Flowers in May and June, in sandy loam and peat. Cuttings and seeds. Sophora-podded Acacia. ( Acacia Flowers in April and sophore.) jet it- June, in sandy loam and peat. tings and seeds. *Rue-leayed Acacia. Folia.) ( Acacia rute- SELECT LIST OF CONSERVATORY PLANTS. Pretty Acacia. (Acacia pulchella.) Flowers in April and July, in sandy loam and peat. Cuttings and seeds. Crest - flowered Acacia. (Acacia lo- phantha.) Flowers in May and July, in sandy loam and peat. Cuttings and seeds. — Downy-stemmed Acacia. (Acacia pu- bescens.) Flowers in March and June, in sandy loam and peat. Cut- tings and seeds. *Yellowish-green - flowered Anigozan- thos. (Anigozanthos fiavida.) *Shore Anthocercis. (Anthocercis lit- torale.) Chinese Azalea. (Azalea chinensis.) Flowers in May, in sandy peat. Layers. Neat-flowered Banksia. (Banksia pul- chella.) Flowers in July and Sep- tember, in loam and peat. Cuttings. Heath -leayed Banksia. ( Banksia ericifolia.) Flowers all the year, in sandy peat. Cuttings. Spinulose Banksia. (Banksia spinu- losa.) Flowers in May and Decem- ber, in sandy peat. Cuttings. Hill Banksia. (Banksia collina.) Flow- ers in May and August, in sandy loam. Cuttings. Taller Banksia. ( Banksia elatior. ) Flowers in May and August, in loam and peat. Cuttings. Sea-side Banksia. (Banksia littoralis.) Flowers in August and September, in sandy peat. Cuttings. Marginate Banksia. (Banksia mar- ginata.) Flowers in May and Au- gust, in sandy peat. Grafting. Entire-leaved Banksia. (Banksia in- tegrifolia.) Flowers in July and October, in loam and peat. Cuttings. Well- matched Banksia. ( Banksia compar.) Tiowers in August and September, in peat andloam. Cut- tings. Verticillate Banksia. (Banksia verti- cillata.) Flowers in July and Octo- ber, in sandy peat. Cuttings. Mediate Banksia. (Banksia media.) Flowers in May and August, in loam and peat. Cuttings. Saw-leaved Banksia. ( Banksia ser- rata.) Flowers in July and Septem- ber, in sandy peat. Seeds. Dryandra -like Banksia. ( Banksia dryandroides.) Flowers in July and pee nber, in loam and peat. Cut- ings. Showy Banksia. (Banksia speciosa.) Flowers in May and August, in loam, sand, and peat. Cuttings. Bearded Borbonia. ( Borbonia bar- bata.) Flowers in July and August, in peat andloam. Seeds. 243 Three-nerved Borbonia. ( Borbonia trinerva.) Flowers in July and Au- gust, in peat andloam. Seeds. Lance - leaved Borbonia. (Porbonia lanceolata.) Flowers in July and August, in peat and loam. Cnut- tings. Wave-leaved Borbonia. ( Borbonia undulata.) Flowers in July and Au- gust, in peat andloam. Cuttings. Heart -leaved Borbonia. (Borhonia cordata.) Flowers in July and Sep- tember, in peat andloam. Seeds. Notch-leaved Borbonia. (Borbonia crenata.) Flowers in June and Au- gust, in loam and peat. Seeds. *Sword Bossiza. (Bossiea ensata.) *Round-leaved Bossiza. (Bossigza ro- tundifolia). *Small-leaved Bossiza. crophylia.) *Leaty Bossiza.) (Bossiea foliosa.) — *Box-leaved Bossiza. (Bossiea buxi- Folia.) Saw-leaved Callicoma. (Callicoma ser- ratifolia.) Flowers in May and Au- gust, in sandy peat. Cuttings. _ Spear-leaved Callistachys. ( Callis- tachys lanceolata.) Flowers in June (Bossiga mi- and August, in sandy peat. Cut- tings. Ovate - leaved Callistachys. ( Cailis- tachys ovata.) Flowers in June and August, in sandy peat. Cuttings. Wedge-leaved Callistachys. ( Ca/llis- tachys cuneata.) Flowers in June and August, in sandy loam. Cut- tings. Toad-flax-leaved Callistachys. (Cai- listachys linariefolia.) Flowers in June and August, in sandy peat. Cuttings. Wedge-shaped Candollea. (Candollea cuneiformis.) Flowers in August and September, in sandy peat. Cut- tings. : *Rhomb-leaved Chorizema. ( Chori- zema rhombea.) *Arborescent Crotalaria. arborescens.) *Genista - like Cyclopia. genistoides.) *Galium - like Cyclopia. galioides.) *Broad-leaved Cyclopia. latifolia.) *Racemulose Daviesia. (Daviesia race- mulosa.) *Small-umbelled Daviesia. umbellulata.) *Thick - leaved Daviesia. incrassatda.) *Needle-leaved Daviesia. acicularis.) (Crotalaria ( Cyclopia ( Cyclopia ( Cyclopia (Daviesia (Daviesia (Daviesia 244 *Furze-leaved Daviesia. ( Daviesia ulicina.) *Juniper - like Daviesia. (Daviesia Juniperina.) *Mimosa - like Daviesia. ( Daviesia mimosoides.) *Broad - leaved Daviesia. ( Daviesia latifolia.) *Squarrose Daviesia. (Daviesia squar- rosa. *Cordate-leaved Daviesia. cordata.) *Winged Daviesia. (Daviesia alata.) *Rush-like Daviesia. (Daviesia jun- ( Daviesia cea.) ; Bundle-flowered Dillwynia, (Dillwynia Jloribunda,) and all the genera. Many-flowered Dryandra. (Dryandra Jloribunda.) Flowers all the year, in sandy peat. Cuttings and seeds. Armed Dryandra. (Dryandra armata.) Flowers all the year, in loam and peat. Cuttings. Handsome Dryandra. ( Dryandra formosa.) Flowers all the year, in loam and peat. Cuttings. Feathered Dryandra. ( Dryandra plumosa.) Flowers in February and December, in loam and peat. Cut- tings. Obtuse-leaved Dryandra. (Dryandra obtusa.) Flowers in July and Sep- tember, in loam and peat. Cuttings. White-ieaved Dryandra. (Dryandra nivea.) Flowers in July and Sep- tember, in loam and peat. Cuttings. Long -leaved Dryandra. (Dryandra longifolia.) Flowers all the year, in sandy peat. Seeds. Baxter’s Dryandra. (Dryandra Bax- teri.) Flowers in March and May, in loam and peat. Cuttings. Fine-leaved Dryandra. (Dryandra tenuifolia.) Flowers in March and May, in sandy peat. Seeds. Nervose Dryandra. (Dryandra ner- vosa.) Flowers in July and Septem- ber, in ]oam and peat. Cuttings. Obcordate-leaved Euchilus. (Huchilus obcordatus.) Flowers in March and THE CONSERVATORY. *Multiform Gompholobium, (Gompho- lobium polymorphum,) and all the rest of the genus. Lotus-leaved Goodia, (Goodia lotifolia,) and all the rest of the genus. Sulphur-coloured Grevillea. (Grevillea sulphurea.) Flowers in April and September, in loam and peat. Cut- tings. *Broom-like Jacksonia. ( Jacksonia scoparia.) Rusty Lasiopetalum. (Lasiopetalum Serrugineum.) Flowers in April and July, in sandy peat. Cuttings. Rough Metrosideros. (Metrosideros hispidus.) Flowers in May and Au- gust, in sandy loam. Cuttings. Narrow-leaved Metrosideros. (Metro- sideros angustifolius.) Flowers in May and June, in sandy loam. Cut- tings. ; *Arborescent Oxylobium, (Oxylobium arborescens,) and the rest of the genus. Fulvid Pittosporum. ( Pittosporum fulvida.) Flowers in April and May, in rich mould. Cuttings. Woolly Pittosporum. ( Pittosporum tomentosum.) Flowers in April and October, in rich mould. Cuttings. Rusty-leaved Pittosporum. ( Pitio- sporum ferrugineum.) Flowers in February and May, in sandy peat. Cuttings. *Three -lobed Podolobium, (Podolo- bium trilobatum,) and the rest of the genus. Stripped Rush-broom. ( Viminaria denudata.) Flowers in June and September, in sandy peat. Cuttings and seeds. Twiggy Spherolobium. (Spherolo- bium vimineum.) Flowers in May and August, in sandy peat. Cuttings and seeds. Queen’s Strelitzia. (Strelitzia reginé.) Flowers in April and May, in peat andloam. Suckers. All the genus, with the exception of augusta, wili flower well in a good conservatory, June, in sandy loam and peat. Cut- although in general they are treated tings. as stove plants. *Two-lobed Gastrolobium. (Gastro- lobium bilobum.) CRIMSON. Showy Callistemon. speciosus.) Flowers in March and June, in sandy loam. Cuttings. Spear-leaved Callistemon. (Calliste- { Caliistemon ~ mon lanceolatus.) Flowers in June and November, in sandy loam. Cut- tings. SELECT LIST OF CONSERVATORY PLANTS. 245 Rigid Callistemon. (Callistemon ri- gidus.) Flowers in April and May, in sandy loam. Cuttings. Ever - blowing Callistemon. (Calli- stemon semperflorens.) Flowers in March and June, in sandy loam, Cuttings. *Proliferous Phoenocoma. ( Pheno- coma prolifera.) BLUE. Holly-leaved Plagiolobium. (Plagio- in March and July, in sandy peat. lobium ilicifolium. ) Flowers in Cuttings. March and July, in sandy peat. Cut- | BlueCeanothos. (Ceanothos azureus.) tings. Gabe snaclexved Plagiolobium. (Pla- giolobium chorizemifolium.) Flowers Fiowers in April, in peat and loam. Cuttings. FLESH-COLOURED. Long-fruited Ardisia. (Ardisia macro- Lofty Knightia. (Knightia excelsa.) carpa.) Flowers in July and Au- Flowers in May and August. Cut- gust, in sandy peat. Cuttings. tings. PINK. *One-flowered Adenandra. (Adenandra September, in loam and peat. Cut- uniflora.) tings. *Pleasing Adenandra. ( 268 THE COLD PIT. indulge in them, from supposing it absolutely necessary to have a green- house for their protection. To the genera enumerated as fit plants for the Protecting Tent, (which see,) many more might be added as calculated for the Cold Pit: indeed, it is more difficult to say what plants, strictly greenhouse ones, will not thrive in such a structure, than to enumerate those that will. Those in the following list, however, are capable of being well cultivated in the Cold Pit. We have been principally induced to compile this List with a view to direct the attention of cultivators, particularly amateur ones, to the possi- bility of indulging in the growth of exotic plants without going to the expense of erecting greenhouses for their protection. We shall also, from a somewhat similar motive, prepare an extensive List of Plants, under the head of Acclimatizing, which have hitherto been considered as strictly in- habitants of the Greenhouse, but which experience has proved will stand in the open air of our best-situated gardens in ordinary seasons. 269 SELECT LIST OF COLD PIT PLANTS. Maytenus boaria Oleajfragrans europea, vars. Jasminum glaucum acuminatum > divaricatum azoricum odoratissimum grandiflorum capense Notelea, all the genus. Veronica parviflora decussata perfoliata Campylanthus salsoloides Calceolaria, all the genus. Salvia canariensis aurea angustifolia leucantha dentata formosa mexicana scabra rugosa Gunnera perpensa Fontanesia phillyreoides Cneorum, all the genus. Spermazyron striatum Ixia, all the genus, as aiso Trichonema, Geissorhiza, Sparaxis, Tritonia, Wat- sonia, Babinia, Lapeyrousia, Gladio- lus, Synnotia, Antholyza, Anoma- theca, Anisanthus, Wachendorfia, Hemodorum, Aristea, Diiatris, Brodiza, Morea, Renealmia, Bo- bartia, Vieusseuxia. Sisyrinchium bermudianum convolulum tenuifolium luteum californicum iridifolium laxum Persoonia, most of the genus. Grevillea, most of the genus. Hakea, most of the genus. Lomatia, most of the genus. Banksia, most of the genus. Dryandra, most of the genus. Opercularia, all the genus. Camphorosma monspeliaca Eleagnus orientalis arborea acuminata Globularia longifolia Alypum spinosa Scabiosa cretica Rubia splendens angustifolia Asperula brevifolia Callicarpa americana rubella Pena, ail the genus. Bleria, all the genus. Pavetta arenosa Ernodea montana Curtisia faginea _ Hartogia capensis mm Ilex chinensis crocea Parado Dahoon angustifolia vomitoria Plumbago capensis Cyclamen, all the genus. Logania floribunda latifolia Vestia lycioides Verbascum spinosum Convolvulus pannifolius farinosus Cenorum linearis ~ floridus Lubinia atropurpurea Azalea indica, and its varieties. Nerium Oleander, and its vayieties. Sideroxylon inerme Arduina bispinosa Pederia foetida Solanum crispum Balbesii Campanula aurea mollis Saxatilis fruticosa Lobelia Tupa Se ee A ee ————— eee Eaeey mee nee pe ae wn ee SSS SSS See ee Se = - = = Si ae = See =o = sear 270 THE COLD PIT. Lobelia bellidifolia Statice purpurata hirsuta pectinata lutea suffruticosa pubescens sinuata ilicifolia mucronata erinus macrophylla crenata egyptiaca decumbens Anigozanthos, all the genus. coronopifolia Hemanthus, all the genus. Trachelium ceruleum Cyrtanthus, all the genus. diffusum Brunsvigia, all the genus. Caprifolium japonicum Nerine, nearly all the genus. flexuosum Amaryllis, nearly all the genus, and ail Serissa foetida the English hybrids. “ flore pleno Gardenia florida radicans Mussenda pubescens Pinckneya pubens Celastrus lucida cassinoides cymosa Euonymus japonicum Ceanothus microphylla asiatica africana azurea Stavia radiata glutinosa Pomaderris, all the genus. Pittosporum, all the genus, ferrugine- um excepted. Bursaria spinosa Hovenia dulcis inequalis Viola arborescens Chenolea diffusa Gentiana viscosa Bumalda triflora Cussonia spicata thyrsiflora Anabasis tameriscifolia Kochia prostrata sericea Bosea Yervamora Ulmus chinensis Bubon Galbanum levigatum Bupleurum spinosum coriaceum frutescens Vibernum odoratissimum Rhus, all the Cape of Good Hope species. Cassine capensis ~ Colpoon Linum flavum suffruticosum arboreum narbonense Statice auriculefolia emarginata cordata scabra spathulata Vallota purpurea Zepheranthus, all the genus. Doryanthus excelsa Gethyllus, all the genus. Alstroemeria, all the genus. Hypoxis, nearly all the genus. Agapanthus, all the genus. Blandfordia nobilis Uvularia chinensis Ophiopogon japonicus spicatus Eucomis, all the genus. Brodiza, all the genus. Sowerbea juncea Albuca, all the genus. Anthericum, most of the genus. Arthropodium paniculatum cirratum Dianella, all the genus. Asparagus albus acutifolius Drimia, all the genus. Lachenalia, all the genus. Phormium tenax Prinos lucidus Nandina domestica Canarina campanulata Disandra prostrata Calla ethiopica aromatica Ceptus, all the genus. Tropeolum, all the genus. Correa, all the genus. Beckia, all the genus. Erica, most of the genus. Fuchsia, all the genus. Vaccineum myrtifolium | Daphne odora Gnidia simplex Laurus camphora indica foetens Anagyris foetida latifolia indica Virgilia capensis intrusa Baptisia perfoliata Chorizema, most of the genus. Callistachys ovatus lanceolatus SELECT LIST OF COLD PIT PLANTS. Brachysema latifolium undulatum Eutaxia, all the genus. Pultenea, most of the genus. Ruta albiflora pinnata Rhodedendron arboreum campanulatum Enkianthus, all the genus. Arbutus canariensis phillyrezfolia serratifolia mucronata Clethra arborea Royena, all the genus. Cunonia capensis Saxifraga ligulata sarmentosa congesta Dianthus arboreus: fruticosus crenatus Oxalis, all the genus. Lychnis coronata Bejaria racemosa Callicoma serratifolia Reseda scoparia fruticulosa Sempervivum, most of the genus. Leptospermum, all the genus. Fabricia, all the genus. Metrosideros, most of the genus. Myrtus communis ef¢ vars. Eucalyptus, all the genus. Prunus prostrata Photinia serrulata arbutifolia dubia Raphiolepis indica rubra salicifolia Eriobotrya japonica Mesembryanthemum, many species. Rosa berberifolia involucrata odoratissima Lawranceana microphylla Rubus rosefolius pinnatus rugosus Capparis spinosa Sarracenia, ali the genus. Helianthemum, all the genus requiring protectien. Bauera, all the genus. : Hibbertia, all the genus. Reaumuria hypericoides Illicium, all the genus. Magnolia conspicua obovata tomentosa wnila uscata annonefolia 271 Anemone vitifolia capensis Clematis chinensis Seiboldii azurea grandiflora of the gardens. balearica aristata Knowltonia rigida vesicatoria Teucrium, all the species requiring pro- tection. Westringia, all the genus. Satureja juliana Tenerifie greca tenuifolia Thymbra spicata verticiilata Lavandula Stcechas viridis dentata pinnata Sideritis canariensis candicans syrica taurica incana cretica Marrubium Pseudodictamnus Phlomis Lychnitis Leonotis Leonurus ovata Origanum Dictamnus sipyleum Thymus Mastichina cephalotus villosus Dracocephalum canariense Scutellaria cretica Prasium majus minus Melianthus major minor Aloysia citriodora Selago, all the species. Verbena, all the species requiring pro- tection. Stenochilus glabra maculata Halleria lucida - Antirrhinum molle Asarina Linaria triornithophora bipartita tristis Mimulus glutinosa Isoplexis canariensis sceptrum Manulea viscosa rubra Alonsoa acutifolia incisifolia linearis Mathiola odoratissima SSS ee Oe 2S Oe ——— SSS eS = ——— —— ee SSS See SS SS oe Se ee EE SS SS = , = = Mathiola tristis Cheiranthus, all the species requiring protection. Iberis semperfiorens gibraltarica Galaxia ovata graminea Erodium, all the species requiring pro- tection. Pelargonium, all the genus and va- rieties. Geranium anemonefolia Malva, all the Cape of Good Hope species. Lavatera micans lbia hispida triloba Pavonia premorsa Hibiscus Patersonii: acerifolius Manihot pedunculatus strigosus Camellia, all the varieties. Muraltia Heisteria mixta Mundia spinosa Erythrina herbacea cafira Crista-galli laurifolia Borbonia, all the genus. Crotalaria cordifolia purpurea Templetonia retusa glauca Goodia lotifola pubescens Loddigesia oxalidifolia Spartium, all the species requiring pro- tection. Genista, all the species requiring pro- tection. Ononis, all the species requiring pro- tection. Anthyllis, all the species requiring pro- tection. Amorpha microphylla pubescens canescens nana croceo-lanata Glycine reniformis Cytisus, all the species requiring pro: tection. Swainsonia galegifolia coronillifolia Coronilla glauca yalentina viminalis coronata minima Psoralea, all the species requiring pro- tection. ae TAN SEE ASE SE ES ONLY Mac M OPERA MAGE NI 69 NSA SE THE COLD PIT. Lotus jacobeus, et var. lutea. creticus Dorycnium monspeliense Medicago arborea Beaufortia decussata sparsa Symplocos tinctoria sinica Citrus, all the varieties. Hypericum foliosum floribunda canariense monogynum balearicum rosmarinifolium glaucum Coris glanduiosum reflexum Ascyrum, all the genus. Chrysocoma comaurea cernua scabra Tarchonanthus camphoratus Ixodia achillzoides Artemisia argentea judaica valentina tenuifolia chinensis Baccharis, all the species requiring pro- tection. Senecio elegans, ef vars. Aster, all the species requiring pro- tection. Cineraria, all the species requiring pro- tection. Chrysanthemum pinnatifidum indicum sinense, with its vars. Vide Select List of Chrysanthemums. Pyrethrum, all the species requiring protection. Buphthalmum frutescens arborescens sericeum Callamia, ali the genus. Berckheya, ail the genus. Didelta, all the genus. Gazania, all the genus. Arctotheca repens Sphenogyne, ali the genus. Calendula, all the species requiring pro- tection Arctotis, all the genus. Osteospermum, ali the genus. Othonna, all the genus. Hippia frutescens Eriocephalus, ali the genus. (Edera prolifera Steebe, all the genus. Cassinia aurea leptophylla Stylidium adnatum Gunnera perpensa SELECT LIST OF COLD PIT PLANTS. 273 Casuarina, all the genus. Schizandra coccinea Tranzeria, all the genus. Myrica, all the genus requiring pro- tection. Pistacia atlantica Lentiscus Xerotes longifolia rigida Schinus molle dentata Euclea racemosa undulata Cliffortia, all the genus. Petunia, all the genus. Escallonia, all the genus. Cyclobothra, all the genus. Calochortus, al? the genus. Calampelis scabra Adesmia microphylla Anagallis, all the genus. Berberis, ali the species requiring pro- tection. Gardoguia Gilliesii Kageneckia cratcegoides Leptostelma maximum Loasa hispida incana Lomaria Patersoni lanceolata Lophospermum erubescens Selago Gilli Sophora macrocarpa Sollya heterophylla Sphacele campanulata. Soa es See ——— Sw rr ta CT ee sas POT He = es tie ee ee eg ge ——— 274 STOVE, OR TROPICAL PLANTS. TuE cultivation of tropical plants is much more limited than that of the other exotics we have treated of, and is, consequently, much less under- stood, nor does it appear that they will ever become so generally popular in this country, on account of the great expense attending their culture. There is happily, however, a variety of tastes in regard to plants, as in all other matters, and hence we find some. directing their attention to this particular department with much zeal and perseverance. Stove plants are exceedingly interesting, and many of them present a most splendid appearance, both in foliage and blossom. Amongst them we may enumerate, as vegetable curiosities, the extraordinary Nepenthes distillatoria, or Chinese pitcher plant, the arborescent ferns of St. Helena and the West Indies, the bread-fruit tree, with many other fruits of great delicacy and richness of flavour; the palm, some of the leaves of which would cover an entire dwelling, and the fruit of others furnish the food of its inhabitants. Many of our most important vegetable medicines, such as jesuit’s-bark, balsam of copavi, cinnamon, jalap, ipecacuana, and many others, are found amongst them: others are intimately connected with the arts; Jamaica ebony, mahogany, lancewood, teak, and the cotton-tree have become amongst our most valuable commercial importa- tions ; and as articles almost indispensable for food may be mentioned coffee, sago, chocolate, pepper, arrowroot, sugar, and ginger, and all the other spices. Stoves have hitherto been considered as of two kinds only, viz., the dry stove, and the humid, or moist stove; and indeed this distinction has been far from being sufficiently attended to. In the former are cultivated plants requiring a temperature varying from a minimum of sixty degrees to ninety degrees as a maximum, and notwithstanding this great heat, requiring, or rather receiving, comparatively but little water; while the other, with a corresponding high temperature, can scarcely be kept too moist. The improvements of the present age have suggested the propriety of VENTILATION. 275 a third kind of stove, in which are cultivated a section of plants which for singularity of structure, elegance of flowering, and often a high degree of the most delightful fragrance, is not approached by any plants hitherto discovered. This structure is termed the Orchideous House, the most complete specimens of which are those of Messrs. Loddiges, Rollenson’s, and Knight’s, and we may add that, so far as our observation has extended, they are the only commercial cultivators who appear rightly to understand the cultivation of these extraordinary and at present fashionable plants. It might appear invidious were we to pass over the Clapton nursery without mention, as it is well known that the highly respectable proprietor, Mr. Low, has been at great expense in sending out collectors to enrich his own and facilitate the collections of private individuals. ON THE ERECTION OF STOVES FOR TROPICAL PLANTS. We have in another part of this work treated somewhat at large on the subject of hot-house architecture: it remains only for us to state here that structures intended for the cultivation of stove or tropical plants should be rendered as close as possible by adopting the most approved modes of glazing, by which means the cold air will be prevented from entering the house in too great a quantity, and in consequence a vast economy in the consumption of fuel will be the result. It should always be kept in mind, that the smaller the quantity of fire heat applied to plants the better, because the more it is used the more highly rarefied will the air within the house become, and consequently the less fit for plants to live in. VENTILATION. The degree of ventilation required in the stove is of much importance. Puttying the laps, and having few openings or moveable lights, will effectually exclude the cold and retain the warm air, admitting at the same time a sufficiency of fresh for the plants, for air becomes lighter, and has a tendency to ascend, when in a heated state, and to descend, but much more rapidly, when in a cold state. Hence the top of a hot- house is always the warmest, and for that reason flues, hot-water or steam pipes ought always to be placed as near to the floor as possible, but so as to be clear of it. The nature of heated air being thus far understood, it follows that in TZ 276 THE TROPICAL HOUSE. ventilating a hot-house the operation ought to begin by letting down the top lights, or opening the top ventilators (if such exist), to an extent vary- ing according to the state of the weather, for opening either to the extent of two inches when the external air is at the freezing point will be equal to opening the same to the extent of four inches when the external air is about forty-five or fifty degrees of temperature, or to a foot or more when the thermometer indicates summer heat in the open air, because then the external and internal air is nearly upon a par, and the circulation is nearly stationary, whereas in the former cases the circulation is extremely rapid ; the cold air without, by its gravity, forcmg its way into every little opening over the whole surface of the house, and forcing the warmer and lighter air out of the top openings; in this way the whole volume of air within a stove is changed in a very short time. It is necessary for summer operations to have some of the front or lower lights in the stove moveable, or to have (what we think a better plan) venti- lators in the front or parapet wall. By a judicious working of these in conjunction with the top lights, ventilation will be most effectually at- tained. There are few things in gardening less understood than the theory of ventilation, although it is daily in use in every kind of structure, from the hand-glass to the most magnificent conservatory ; the operator too often opening that part of the structure most convenient to himself, without once thinking of the consequences. We believe that the first correct principles upon this subject were laid down about thirty years ago, by W. Atkinson, Esq., and first exemplified in the hot-house of the Earl of Mansfield, at Scoone Palace, in Perthshire, under his superin- tendence. We remember well the opposition his theory met with amongst practical men long before we had the pleasure of that exeel- lent person’s acquaintance, to whom we owe far more information on the subject of hot-house architecture than to all the books we have perused. Some very curious mechanical propositions have been advanced by Mr. Kewley and others, on the possibility of constructing self-acting venti- lators; but these have not as yet arrived at that degree of perfection to warrant our recommending them. | HEATING. Next to ventilation, as respects houses for the cultivation of tropical plants, is the subject of a judicious and economical method of heating them; but this subject we have treated on so fully in the early part of WATERING. 2774. this work as to leave us little to add here, beyond the recommendation of laying down a sufficient number of pipes, if for hot water, or properly constructed flues, if heating by that means be preferred, and to bear in mind that it is better to have two small furnaces to one house than one large one, both for the more equal diffusion of heat and economy of fuel. WATER. Water being an element so essentially necessary to the existence of plants, and as it is required in abundance where tropical plants are grown, we would recommend that it be laid on by pipes from some convenient source, and that arrangements should be made for retaining that which falls on the roof in time of rain in a tank, cistern, or reservoir of suffici- ent capacity to contain a supply during the droughts of summer, at which time it is most required. This cistern should be placed over the fire- place, or near to it, so that the water it contains may always be of a proper temperature for immediate application to the plants. And that this may be the more completely accomplished, a pipe of two inches diameter or so may be carried down from the cistern to the side of the furnace; but without bringing it in immediate contact with the fire, merely passing it along one side of the furnace and making it re-enter the cistern again near to its surface. The column of water occupying this pipe will become heated by passing along near to the fire: a circulation will thus be created, which will render the whole mass of water in the cistern of a genial warmth, and fit for use. A mode of diffusing water in stoves has been long in operation in the extensive palm stove of Messrs. Loddiges, by means of small leaden pipes, arranged over the inner surface of tle roof: these pipes being perforated with many small holes, and being subjected to considerable pressure, when the water is let on, it is thrown over the house like a fine showerof rain. This is a most ingenious mode of watering, and well calculated for the purpose Messrs. Loddiges in- tended it, which is, to water their immense palms and other very large tropical trees, which, from their great size, are not likely to be injured by too copious a supply: for smaller and more delicate plants, however, and for plant-stoves in general, this plan is objectionable, because the diffusion is so equal over the whole house that such plants as do not ~ require it, nay, that may be injured by it, have an equal share with those which require it the most. The application of water being a matter of much consequence to all plants, an injudicious use of it by giving too much is as had as giving too little. Plants, therefore, when considered : ae I ice eee ero 218 THE TROPICAL HOUSE. individually, must be watered by the hand, and the mind directed at the same time to the state that each individual is found to be in, and also its nature and disposition, for some plants require much, while others require little, of this element. BOTTOM HEAT. Bottom heat, as a general rule, has long ago been abandoned by the best cultivators in this country, but pertinaciously adhered to by most of the gardeners on.the continent. Experience has proved the advantage of the change, both by the saving effected in the purchase of tan, and lessening of labour, and the benefit the plants have experienced from it; and this can be accounted for on rational principles, for as all natural heat is derived from the sun, and is diffused in the atmosphere which sur- rounds plants in their natural state, so the heat to stove-plants should in like manner be derived from the atmosphere of the house, and not, as in former practice, from beds of tan, leaves, or other fermentable matter placed under them. But although this rule holds good in general prae- tice, there are extraordinary cases where it must be deviated from, and which will be noticed in the proper place. The plants in general should stand on a dry, level surface, formed of gravel, scoriz, or similar materials, capable of allowing a free draining for the superfluous water. THE SIZE AND FORM OF TROPICAL PLANT STOVES. The size of plant stoves, as we have remarked when treating of green- houses, depends on a variety of circumstances, of which the taste, means, and object of the proprietor are the principal. Few of any extraordinary dimensions have been erected in Britian, a variety of causes combining to operate against them. Those at Sion, a view of which we have chosen for one of our illustrations, are the most extensive in the neighbourhood of London, and those erecting at Chatsworth and Woburn Abbey, the most magnificent in the country. The taste for plants is more generally diffused in England than in any other country, but that taste is chiefly confined to people of moderate fortunes, whose plant erections must of necessity be of moderate dimensions also. The government in this re- spect is much behind that of France, Austria, or Prussia, each of which has houses of vast dimensions for the cultivation of the plants of warmer climates. No one can view the houses in the Jardin des Plantes at Paris, or those at Schonbrunn, or Rennwegg, in Germany, without regretting that HOT-HOUSE AT SCHONBRUNN. 279 we should be in this respect so much behind our less wealthy neighbours. We are by no means advocates for large hot-houses generally, but we think that such a garden as Kew should contain one house at least equal to that at Schonbrunn, of which Townson, a traveller of the last century, observes that the hot-houses “are the most spacious that have yet been constructed in Europe; the trees of the tropics there develope their branches at full liberty, and bear flowers and fruits.” The annexed sketch will give some idea of a part of this extensive stove, as it at present exists. To cultivate Tropical plants in the first degree of excellence, requires separate houses for different sections of plants ; and as we have shown, we hope pretty clearly, when treating of greenhouse plants, the utility of these sub-divisions, we shall proceed to sketch out what we consider the best sub-divisions for natives of the tropics, which ought to be as follows :— THE HUMID STOVE, THE DRY STOVE, THE ORCHIDEZ STOVE, THE AQUA- RIUM, THE PALM STOVE, THE TROPICAL FRUIT STOVE, THE SCITAMINEE OR REEDY PLANT STOVE, and THE CRYPTOGAMIC STOVE. The latter of these is quite indispensable where the cultivation of the. plants belonging to them are indulged in; but as these can only be ex- pected in establishments of the highest order, we shall be brief in our observations on them, at least for the present, and proceed to describe more fully the three first, as being by far more generally in use. 280 THE TROPICAL HOUSE. Tropical plant culture requires also another species of improvement, namely, distinguishing what plants really require the temperature of the stove from those which do not; for there are some in most collections that would thrive much better if kept in the greenhouse or conservatory. Some have recommended a botanical or systematic arrangement for plants in houses; we can, however, see no real utility in the plan, beyond that of arranging them into groups or sections suitable for their better culture. No complete system of scientific arrangement can possibly be illustrated by plants in houses, because in many natural orders not one single speci- men requiring protection is to be found, and in many others, the plants of which may be more tender, the culture they require is diametrically opposite in some genera. The arrangement we have proposed, however, admits of a very pleasing sub-arrangement in respect to some orders which require nearly the same mode of treatment. For instance, the numerous family of heaths (Erica) may be arranged im the heathery, so that each species may follow that most nearly related to it, without interfering with the routine of culture. The same may be also said of succulent plants and bulbs; but then it should be remembered that in neither of these cases de the plants all belong to one natural order, strictly speaking. Such being the case, therefore, we think few will attempt any other mode of arrangement than that we have pointed out, or perhaps one founded upon it, better calculated to suit the local cir- cumstances of the collection. 281 THE HUMID OR MOIST STOVE. In the construction of a stove of this description, which we may here observe is by far the most common in use, much depends on the taste and object of the owner, the kind of collection that he intends to culti- vate, and whether he is ambitious of possessing specimens of extraordinary magnitude, or is content with small-growing and free-flowering kinds. We have hitherto in these brief observations recommended rather low houses, as being best calculated for the growth of fine-flowering plants that are not intended to be allowed to attain a very large size: however, the case materially differs when specimens of large growth are more desir- able, and lofty and extensive structures must be formed for them; and, WK a \ S therefore, in this, as in all similar cases, the size, particularly the light ought to be regulated by the description of plants intended to be culti = OEE ALTE ES : Sora, a Ree amar 5G bss ee SE ET SS a Se Seas SSS = SS PO OO A A aa 282 THE MOIST STOVE. vated. For example, palms, musas, &c., require houses of the greatest altitude to enable them to develope their fronds and leaves to their fullest extent. A very good stove for the culture of such plants as require with a high temperature a corresponding degree of humidity, or indeed for general purposes, may be of any required length, and ten or twelve feet high at the back, and from from twelve to sixteen feet in width. Such a house should have a bed or platform in the middle, as at a, a walk, 3, all round, three feet in breadth, and the flues, c, in front, and df at the back, over which atrellised platform should be placed for the reception of plants, both over the front and topmost back flue also. If hot water or steam pipes be used in preference to smoke flues, they should of course occupy the same places marked as flues in the section. A neat trellised UUVYGANOO4GAUS S14 SNNTNOUELO:SUCAMAA ADA EN STOO OSES ATUDLOAC DOYS UCSB ESUOT MOTTA PSSST METRY AMT c TTT TATA N EE OUUAUISASSSASANU UTEP ATSC TT AACA OOANOTNATTTT arch may be placed under every other rafter over the front footpath, and these joined with other arches of a single half-inch rod of iron, to which the most delicate climbing plants may be trained. The stronger growing kinds to be planted in large pots plunged in the bed, and trained to upright rods of iron under every rafter, both for support and ornament. Over the back flues should be placed three courses of shelves for the reception of plants while in a dormant state, and which require to be kept dry, such as Gloxinia, Gesneria, kc. Such a house a this, forty feet long, may be heated by one fire, either by a common smoke flue or hot-water boiler and pipes; but as the additional expense in the first instance will not be much, it will be better to have two furnaces, the second to be considered merely as supplementary, and to be used only in case CONSTRUCTION. 283 of accident, or extremely hard frosts. The first furnace is placed in the shed behind, at a, in ground plan, and over it should be placed a capa- cious cistern, to be supplied with water, and regulated by a ball-cock. This water will always be in a state sufficiently warm to be applied to the plants, and for greater convenience it should be admitted into the house by means of a short pipe through the back wall. This first course of flues to enter the house at 0, proceed round the front and both ends to e, where it will return along the back flue d in the section, to the point where it first entered, and escape by the.chimney. The second fire-flue to enter at e, and make two turns in the back flues at c f, and escape by the chimney over the point where it first entered the house. Such a house as this is capable of growing tropical plants of moderate size to the fullest degree of excellence. To those ambitious of more splendid houses, we can with safety, we presume, recommend the sketch at page 233, which shows the inte- rior of a splendid conservatory, one hundred feet in length, and fifty feet in width, and twenty-five feet in greatest height. Such a structure, dedicated to the cultivation of tropical plants, would have a very impos- ing effect, and be at the same time extremely well calculated for their growth. The roof is composed of two spans, each springing from the top. cf the ornamental iron columns, of which there are four rows, and being hollow to conduct the water of the roof to a large reservoir under- neath the floor, from whence it is pumped up as required for the use of the house, and supply of the steam or hot-water boilers employed in heat- ing the atmosphere of the structure. Those parts of the roof which are over the foot-paths are opaque, and upon them is placed a cast-iron trellised grating for the purpose of walking upon when necessary to repair the roof or ventilator, or even as an elevated promenade, from whence not only the plants within may be viewed, but the garden and grounds around. The species of elevated promenade is very fashionable on the continent, and one of the best specimens of the kind we have seen is that of the immense range of exotic plant-houses erected by the Duc d’Aremberg; at Enghien, in the Netherlands, and which is four hundred and sixty feet long. _ The proportions of the house, of ae our figure will give some idea, are, we think, perfect; its length, however, might be extended without affecting the perfection of the principle, which we take to be in the breadth, and more especially in the height. Houses, such as the centre part of the range at Sion House, (see page 4,) however imposing they may look when viewed from without, are any thing but calculated for 284 THE MOIST STOVE. the cultivation of the plants that are grown within. Such lofty houses have much the same effect upon plants, whether planted out in borders or grown in pots, that bell-glasses have upon tender plants placed under them; and, however high the one or the other may be, if we leave the stems and lower parts destitute of branches, the plants will, if permitted, reach their tops. In regard to heating a house for tropical plants, such as that represented by our figure, we should say steam would be the most com- plete, because such a house, in our opinion, should be connected with the mansion, and if opening into the drawing-room, library, or saloon, would form a splendid connection with them, particularly when seen by candle or gas light. The temperature also would not, particularly at night, be much above that of an ordinary sitting-room, for it should be kept in mind that houses of such dimensions, and which must be always con- sidered as erected more for display than for cultivation, should contain only such plants as will prosper in a temperature of which fifty-seven or sixty degrees may be taken for a minimum. Such being the case, the steam apparatus may be conveniently placed under some part of the building, and the steam which may not be required for the conservatory may be ad- vantageously employed for a variety of domestic purposes, of which the kitchen is not the least important. Hot water no doubt would heat such a house perfectly, but we question whether it could be done upon so eco- nomical a scale. The steam or hot-water pipes should be placed in a sufficient chamber under the pavement, extending all round the house, and also through the middle, under the centre walk, the heated air being allowed to ascend through brass ventilators let into the floor at regular distances. Such a structure may be completely constructed of timber, excepting the columns which support the roof, which ought always to be of iron. The opaque part of the roof over the foot paths ought in that case to be of deal, well painted on the outside, and lined also with deal within, leaving a span the thickness of the semi-circular battens, which will pre- vent the admission of cold, or escape of heat, by inclosing between them a volume of air, which is the best of all non-conductors. The plants should be all planted in tubs, boxes, or large pots, and plunged in a bed of scoria, or river sand, and covered over with various species of mosses, which can be made very ornamental, and are easily repaired. Were the plants planted out in the beds, as is usually done, the stronger growing sorts would in a short time completely overgrow the tenderer ones, and often the most valuable, and in the course of eighteen months after planting the whole would become a mass of confusion and disorder ; whereas, by having the plants portable, their luxuriance would PROPAGATION AND TREATMENT. 2835 be limited into something like the space they have to grow in, and if any change in the arrangement suggest itself to the owner, it can be readily effected. The boxes, tubs, or pots may be hid entirely by the mode suggested for the conservatory, and the whole appearance will be as if they were really planted out without any of the inconvenience of that ridiculous practice. To those who might object to such capacious houses, we would re- commend one or more small stoves, according to circumstances, upon the principle exhibited in the annexed diagram. A house to be heated by one fire, may be fifty feet long, nine feet high at the back, and ten feet wide, having the flue extending along the front and ends. The plants to be placed on a stage, which, to lessen the capacity to be heated, should be solid underneath: the flue in front, although shown with dark lines around it, is to be understood as standing clear on all sides, and having over it at the distance of ten or twelve inches a trellis, on which plants are to be set, and such should be chosen for this situation as require a slight bottom heat, and also require to be placed nearer to the light and air. For private amateurs, or where only a limited collection of tropical plants is to be cultivated, such a house would give every satisfaction. PROPAGATION AND TREATMENT OF TROPICAL PLANTS WHILE YOUNG. In the propagation of Tropical plants all the known modes are occa- sionally adopted, but those by cuttings and seeds are the most successful, and, therefore, the most general. Where Tropical plants are cultivated to any extent, or where a stove or nn te ‘ “rt sete = ' it hit TE Ye at A he iit J 1 ¥ , 1 : | H i yi ' “Hi ihe! { ' i f ati HE j Ma} | i} } iy) fhe : { Miia 4 i 2 \ 3 al an { 1 J eH We i Wah | i) ve wad $ AH 4. ; FR i 9) ety AEE) or tt * diens d ai W HY « Wh tN) {i wih at i oat ' : | Os 1 a tt ae yf mt iE H a it Hi uF i See | eRe Hf 4) ae 4 ¥ a | ee a a a ener . 286 THE MOIST STOVE. ‘Tropical conservatory, as above illustrated, is to be supplied, it will be found next to impossible to obtain the necessary supply without a separate structure for their propagation. A pit, therefore, of the description re- commended for the growth of Scitaminee, or Reedy plants, should be erected in the reserve flower-garden, or in the melon or forcing-ground, in which not only a supply of young plants will be brought forward, but also those that are sickly brought into health again, and fitted for their proper places. Such pits being filled with tan, or leaves, and the heat kept up by the application of linings, will be a very good place for raising Tropical séeds, or propagating the plants from cuttings. SEEDS. Few Tropical plants ripen their seeds in our stoves; our supply, there- fore, depends upon importations from the various countries of which they are natives. The best season for sowing the seeds is undoubtedly in the spring ; but as these seeds may arrive in autumn, or even during winter, it is better to sow them as soon as they are received, because they of course have been long gathered, and they are also liable to be very much injured by their transition from warm to cold latitudes: indeed, some sorts have been found to be incapable of the change. A statement has been made by a Danish botanist of credit, that of eighteen hundred sorts sent from Denmark to Calcutta, fourteen hundred vegetated in a few days after sowing, whereas those sent to Europe from Calcutta almost all perished. Many propositions have been made for overcoming this difficulty: packing in charcoal, in closely corked bottles, in sugar, imbedding the seeds in various gums and other mucila- ginous matters, have all been tried, but not with any very satisfactory result. ‘After much experience it has been found that seeds packed loosely in coarse canvass bags, and hung to the ceiling of the cabin of a ship, where they are exposed to light and air, and protected from damp, will retain their vegetative powers much better than when enveloped in wax or tallow, or mixed with sugar or charcoal. No material will pre- serve seeds so long as coarse brown paper, made from old tarred rope, in which a large quantity of tar is incorporated. Cartridge paper affords seeds no protection whatever. Surrounding seeds with moist earth rammed very hard will also prevent germination, and at the same time retain the vital principle. In general, the most difficult seeds to preserve are those which contain much oil; but there are many exceptions in the case of SEEDS. 287 the seeds of the Brassica family, mustard, and other cruciferous plants.” —Ency. of Gard. As the temperature of this pit must be kept up from sixty degrees to seventy degrees and upwards, it matters not, so far as heat is concerned, at what season the seed be sown: it is the want of sun-heat and light that operates against them while just coming into a state of vegetation, for want of which they are very apt to damp or die off just as they get above the ground. Seeds that arrive from September till December had better be kept unsown, unless it be such as are of large size, or hard shelied, and which require to lie a long time in the ground before germina- tion takes place: these latter may be sown as soon as they are received. The soil in which Tropical seeds soonest vegetate, is that called vege- table mould of decayed leaves, and a small portion of light, sandy loam. They should be sown in pots of the size called thirty-twos, and these must be well drained, the surface of the mould in them made very smooth and firm, upon which the smallest seeds are to be sown, and covered to about the depth of the diameter of their respective sizes. When sown, the pots should be plunged to the brim in the bed of the pit, providing the heat be not too strong, in which case it will be well to half plunge them first, and afterwards to their full depth. A slight watering should be given them when sown, but this will not be often necessary, particularly during winter, as the steam arising from the bed and linings will be abundant, and by condensing upon the under surface of the glass will fall back on the mould in the shape of dew. Their whole treatment during winter is to regulate the temperature by renewing the linings, for the bed must not be disturbed till spring, and to guard against an extra degree of damp and impurity of air from want of sufficient ventilation. | Seeds as they arrive are to be sown in the same manner. In spring, when the weather becomes mild, a regulation of the seed-bed may take place by removing the seed-pots into another pit or hot-house for a day to allow of the bed being turned, and fresh tan or leaves added; and when that is completed, the pots in which the seedlings are not yet advanced to a _ state fit for transplanting should be replunged again. Such as are fit for transplanting should be carefully taken out and placed in small pots of the size of small or large sixties, as the case may be. These should be again plunged into the bed, either in the division set apart for seed-pots, or in that in which cuttings are placed. Here they should remain till they have taken with the mould, and can stand the sun without shading. It is necessary that this kind of pit be divided into two or three compartments ; one, for example, for seed-pots, one for cuttings, and one 288 THE MOIST STOVE. , for the young plants, whether from seeds or cuttings, when they are potted off. This is necessary, because the latter require to have more air admitted to them as well as light. There is no difficulty in dividing such a pit at pleasure, because having a boarded partition made to shift from one place to another is all that is required. Thus one or two lights may nclosed for one purpose, and one or more for another. Many thick and hard-skinned seeds do not vegetate freely; in such cases it iS necessary to steep them in moderately warm water for a few days before they are sown, and to keep them at the same time in a warm place. Mr. Otto, the director of the Berlin Botanic Gardens, in a com- munication to the Prussian Gardening Society, recommends steeping old seeds, or such as there may be doubts of their vegetating, for twenty-four or forty-eight hours, in a bottle containing oxalic acid, at the end of which period germination will have commenced, which when observed the seeds are to be carefully taken out and sown in the usual manner. He also recommends wetting a woollen cloth with the same acid, on which the seeds will germinate ; and also, by watering the mould in which seeds from twenty to forty years old have been sown, with a weak solution of it, he has succeeded in getting up plants, whilst the same sorts sown in the usual manner did not grow at all. M. Bosse, in the work last quoted, states that the germination of seeds is accelerated by steeping them in malic acid, and observes, that seeds covered with the pulp of rotten apples have been known to vegetate sooner than when treated in the ordinary course. Some have recommended milk, others diluted muriatic acid, and many pare with a sharp knife the shell or skin of the seed, just round the point through which the embryo shoot is to issue: all or any of these means may be used, but in either case they should be sown as soon as any sign of swelling or growth appears. If the sowing takes place in spring, which, as we have already observed, is the best time, many of the seeds will germinate in five or six weeks’ time, but the larger and hardier sorts may remain for twelve months or longer before any sign of vegetation appears. We notice this, as it not unfrequently happens that seed-pots are emptied and thrown away just as the process of germination is commencing. CUTTINGS. The majority of Tropical exotics that are furnished with branches are capable of being propagated by cuttings, which should be taken off in CUTTINGS. 289 spring, or during summer, when the operation is to be accomplished upon young wood, which always strikes soonest. The best wood for this pur- pose is the young, firm, fully-formed tips of the lateral branches, but these must have attained their full growth, as well as the leaves upon them, and be made and planted in the cutting-pit if possible before they begin to flag, or their leaves droop. Some cultivators place much im- portance on the part of the plant from which the cutting is to be taken. Some prefer the tips of the lateral shoots, as above, and think that they produce plants more apt to become free-flowerers, although of less robust habits: others prefer the young upright shoots, taken off early in spring, and think that they make the most handsome plants. We think either may be taken with equal success as to the state of the future plant. The lateral shoots can in general be better spared from the original plant without disfiguring it, and may in all cases be obtained in greater numbers. - The late Cushing, who had most extensive practice in these matters, has these remarks :—‘ The cuttings of many plants, if taken from the lateral shoots, never become proper erect stems, but are inclined at all times to form an irregular, bushy, weak head: this is not of small import- ance to such collectors as cultivate plants merely for the flowers, as such heads generally produce them sooner than luxuriant leaders. The lovers of handsome, erect plants, however, choose their cuttings from the upright shoots, early in the season, before they acquire that luxuriance of growth so unfit for the purpose of propagation. The tops of the shoots are to be preferred, unless they happen to flag before being used.” In preparing them for planting, much care is required, and a very old and too general error guarded against, namely, taking off all or shortening most of the leaves, than which nothing is more hurtful and injurious, par- ticularly to evergreens, and such most tropical plants may be considered, as few of them, comparatively, shed their foliage. This is rationally ac- counted for in the following way: the inherent sap of the cutting being deprived of their leaves, which are the organs of respiration, and having no roots to produce new ones, the sap consequently becomes stagnated in the pores of the wood, which is somewhat similar to the stagnation of blood in animals, and will produce mortification, and finally death. Too many cuttings, unless of the most succulent sorts, should not be taken off at once, and these should be planted as soon as made, and during the process they should be kept as much from the air as possible. In preparing cuttings, it should be borne in mind that the power of pro- truding roots rests almost entirely in those parts of the branch or stem U 290 THE MOIST STOVE. called joints, or where tlie leaves and buds are already formed. Cuttings, therefore, ought in all cases, excepting in such as the willow, or some few other free-growing shrubs, to be cut transversely across, close under a joint or eye; and this must be done in a careful manner, for every cut produces a fractured or bruised section, so that in separating the cutting from the parent the former ought, of the two, to be the fractured part, and it is to rectify this fracture that we recommend the careful cutting transversely across of that part intended to become the new plant, which if unattended to would rather be disposed to rot and decay than te-_ throw out roots, or form those granular callosities which in many plants form first, and from which roots are certain to issue- The proper time for taking off cuttings of evergreen plants,—and most tropical plants may be so considered,—is when the sap is in motion, in order that by its returning by the bark, it may form a ring of granular matter, from which roots will protrude; and the point of separation in removing the cutting should be just where the shoot of the present sea- son’s growth commences, taking a thin slice of that of last year’s growth attached to it ; or if at a more advanced period of the season, and in the ease of plants which make two growths in the year, taking a small por- tion of the wood of the first growth, which will have attained a pretty firm consistency, and in general be of a brownish or darkish colour. All soft-wooded plants not having too much pith will root freely if se taken off. But there are others which are commonly denominated hard- wooded, that root under all circumstances with difficulty. With such plants it has been proposed to remove a ring of the bark previously, and where this operation has taken place, a callus will be formed ; and if then separated from the parent and inserted in the ground, roots will be produced. Some hard-wooded plants take a year or upwards to strike root, and some would perhaps never root at all if kept planted in mould in the centre of the pot, even #f of the kind most favourable for the plant, but will root if set in sand, or in mould so close to the side of the pot that the cutting may touch the side of it all its length; and some if so placed that their ends may rest on the bottom of the pot, or on pieces of broken potsherd, placed on purpose. In these latter cases a brisk bottom heat is essentially necessary. Some soft-wooded plants will root freely in bottles of water, and it would be exceedingly interesting to ascertain to what extent this practice could be carried. ‘‘The management of cuttings after they are planted depends on the general principle, that where life is feeble all excess of exterior agency must have a tendency to render it extinct. No cutting requires to be CUTTINGS. 291 planted deep, though large ones ought to be inserted deeper than small. In the case of evergreens, the leaves ought to be kept from touching the soil, or they will damp or rot off: and in the case of tubular-stalked plants, which are in general not very easily struck, owing to the water lodging in the tube, and rotting the cutting, both ends may in some cases be advantageously inserted in the soil, as, besides a greater certainty of success, there is a chance that two plants may be produced. Too much light, air, water, heat, or cold are alike injurious. To guard against these extremes in tender sorts, the best means hitherto devised, is that of inclosing an atmosphere over the cuttings by means of a hand or bell- glass, according to their delicacy. This preserves a uniform stillness and moisture of atmosphere. Immersing the pot in earth has a tendency to preserve a steady, uniform degree of moisture at their roots, and shading prevents the bad effects of too much light. The only method of regu- lating the heat is by double or single coverings of glass or mats, or both. A hand-glass placed over a bell-glass will preserve a very constant degree of heat. What that degree of heat ought to be is generally decided by that requisite for the mother plant. Whatever degree of heat is natural to the mother plant when in a growing state will in general be most favourable to the growth of cuttings.” —Ency. Gard. : Cuttings of stove plants may be planted at almost any season, but of course the dark months of winter are the least favourable, and the spring and early summer months the most so, as the plants are at those periods best furnished with young wood, which, as we have already stated, roots much more freely than old. On the purity of the soil, the late Cushing justly remarks, depends in a great measure the success of many of the _tenderer kinds of cuttings, particularly those that are obliged to be kept in a moist heat, as the soil is, when contaminated with other compost, very liable in those situations to cause damp and rottenness by the particles of putrefying matter generally contained in mixed earths, and the properties of which are put in motion by the application of heat. As an exception to this rule may be adduced sand, which is of very great utility to mix _ with the loam, should it happen to be rather stiff for the nature of the cutting ; but then the sand proper for this use is of so pure a nature in itself, that it is evident it cannot have the effect noticed above. Cuttings should be planted as soon after they are taken off as. possible, and when planted receive a gentle watering, both to refresh them, and to form the sand or mould more closely round them for the exclusion of air. When they have remained for a short time to allow the leaves to become pretty dry, the bell-glasses should be put over those that require u2 ; SOT tae Rim oe OEE ay preveige namherein ds 292 THE MOIST STOVE. such a covering, and pressed pretty tight into the mould in the pot to exclude the atmospheric air, and prevent it from exhaling the juices of the plants, which is the use of such glasses. The cutting being so cir- cumstanced, all its powers are forced downwards to produce roots, and these will soon prove their existence by producing young leaves and branches. In small collections, where few cuttings of any individual plants are required to be propagated, some discretion ought to be observed in selecting such as most nearly agree in habits to be placed in the same pot; for if this be not attended to, a difficulty will arise in potting them off, as some kinds will root so much sooner than others, and the process of removing them may be attended with some chance of injury to the others. The pots should be prepared by being well drained and filled with the mould most congenial to the genus or species, to within a distance of the top about equal to or rather more than the length the cutting is to be inserted. This upper strata is to be filled up with clean sand, and when well watered and pressed tightly down the cuttings are to be planted. This operation requires care, and the dibble or planting-stick should not be sharp-pointed, for if such a one be used, the cuttings which may be of greater diameter than the point of the stick would not rest upon its bottom, but would be suspended, as it were, by the middle by the pressure of the sides of the hole against it, while it is necessary to Imsure success that the cutting rest upon its base on the bottom of the hole made for it. When the cuttings are planted in the pot, they should then be, for the most part, covered with a bell-glass pressed slightly into the sand, so as to exclude the air. They should then be removed to the pit above described, and either set on the surface of the bed, or plunged into it, as the temperature may be. Many plants strike best when placed in the pit without bell-glasses over them, but of this it would be impossible to form any estimate without enumerating them by name. It may be taken for granted that most soft-wooded free-growing plants will root by this means, while only the hard-wooded and smaller-leaved plants require covering. Regularity in watering, shading, and wiping the inside, not only of the bell-glasses, but also the lights of the pit, must be attended te, and also that no excess of steam enter the pit from the linings; but against this our pit has some provision. If the cuttings be left too dry, the bark shrivels up, and the foliage drops off, for it should be remembered that tropical plants, with very few exceptions, prefer a humid, mild heat to strike CUTTINGS. 293 in, and are much less injured by damp than plants of any other descrip- tion. The most convenient shading for them is large sheets of coarse packing paper laid over the glasses within the frame, which is both easier done and more certain of remaining without being displaced than any covering applied on the exterior of the pit, which is liable to be blown off, and before such a disaster can be discovered the whole stock of cuttings may be destroyed by the sun. One great advantage which shading with paper within the frame has over any kind of shading laid over the exterior is, that while the cuttings are effectually shaded by the paper, the sun’s rays are not prevented from entering into the pit to dry up damp and prevent an impure atmosphere from being formed, which would be the case if covered with mats, as is” too often erroneously practised. Many of these plants strike root very soon after planting: thus the first set of rooted plants fit for transplanting into separate small pots may be expected in about a fortnight or three weeks, another set in a month or five weeks, and so on, while some will remain unrooted for nine months or a twelvemonth. The cuttings will in general show the progress of the roots by beginning to grow; when this is observed, air should be gra- dually admitted to them, so that by the time they are fit for potting they may stand, without flagging, the heat of the sun. Shading should be taken off every evening, and as the plants appear to root it should be by degrees reduced till dispensed with entirely. When the cuttings have rooted sufficiently to insure their safe removal to separate pots, they should be taken very carefully out of the mould or sand in which they have been hitherto growing, and as the preservation of the roots is the principal object to be attended to, it will be well to turn out the contents of the pot carefully on the potting table, so that the roots may be singled out and separated from the mould without breaking or bruising any of them. This is perfectly practicable in regard to the larger growing sorts, but the smaller kinds will require to be taken out in small patches upon the point of a knife or thin piece of wood. When _ they are separated from the sand or mould in which they have been struck, they should then be as speedily as possible planted into thumbs, or small or large sixties, as their size and condition demand. The mould now to be used is that in which the plant is found to succeed best in when full grown ; but in regard to the smaller and more delicate ones, a soil somewhat lighter, and the mould reduced to a finer consistency, will be advisable. When potted off they should be gently watered, and then placed in 294 THE MOIST STOVE. the pit on the surface of the bed, and covered with hand-glasses for a few days till they have taken fresh root in the new soil; these glasses must be progressively removed as the plants get established. It will be necessary also to shade them during the first few days; but this shading, like the removal of the glasses, must be progressively dis- pensed with. Their whole culture now depends on the regularity of the supply of air, heat, light, and water, and as they extend in growth, frequent shift- ings, until they are of a state to take their place in the stove. Grafting and inarching are sometimes, but rarely, practised on stove plants, and some species difficult to strike by cuttings are increased by laying. Some sorts of stove plants, such as Jacguinia arborea, are propagated from the leaves, which should in the case of this plant be stripped off and planted round the edge of a pot, filled with sandy leaf-mould, being previously well drained: in six or eight months they will send up a stem which will form the futnre plant. In like manner the genera Gloxinia, Gesneria, &c., will from leaves planted in a similar way form tubers from the base of the leaf-stalk, which will the season following send up a shoot and make good plants. This mode of reproduction is frequently had recourse to in the case of succulent plants, such as Gasteria, Aloe, &c., particularly of those kinds which neither send up suckers nor divide into branches ; and many species of plants produce small leaves on their flower-stems, which, as in the case of Echeveria gibbifiora, E. grandifolia, &c., if laid on the surface of the mould produce plants. But the most curious mode of reproduction we think is that stated by Professor Thouin, that certain flowers and fruits have this property, and as an instance of the former we may state that of the corollas of the drum appendiculatum producing plants in the garden of the Taurida Palace, at St. Petersburgh. LAYING TROPICAL PLANTS. Laying, as a means of multiplying tender exotics, is much less practised in this country now than formerly, when the art of striking by cuttings was but little understood. It is, however, still very universally practised on the continent, where the former and more expeditious mode is less cor- rectly known. In propagating by this means some preliminary arrange- ments are necessary, because in the cases of tall plants it would be next to impossible te bring their branches down ta be laid in a pot ef mould upor LAYING. 295 the stage or platform. To obviate this difficulty, our inventive neighbours have constantly by them small conical-shaped tin vessels, sometimes slit on one side to allow the shoot to be operated on, and at other times having a hole in the bottom part, up which the shoot is made to pass. These vessels are suspended in some part of the tree itself, or, if more convenient, in some neighbouring tree, so that the shoot can be brought to it without danger of breaking. The vessel being filled with the proper mould, the branch is laid into it, sometimes having been previously ringed, tongued, slit through the middle, and having a small slip of slate or other thin material let into the opening to prevent the wound from heal- ing over, pierced with an awl, or having a notch or thin paring of the bark taken off at that part to be covered with the mould. These modes have all their respective advantages. The mould in the vessel is kept of a proper degree of humidity by enveloping it in moss kept moderately moist. With us, earthenware pots have been manufactured, having a slit down one side, and are used much as described above. When the subject to be operated upon is of flexible habit and near the ground, the laying is more conveniently carried into effect by simply placing pots of mould round the parent plant, and laying the branches in them in the usual manner. “In laying,’ Cushing observes, “ choice should be made of the young tender shoots of the present year: the soft bark of which will sooner form a callosity and produce roots than that of the preceding year’s growth. It is particularly necessary to observe whether the plant intended to be laid is of a brittle nature or not, for if it is, it will be necessary that the shoots be pegged gently down to the surface previous to laying, and thus left until the tops naturally acquire a perpendicular direction, which they will do in a few days; without this precaution it would be extremely difficult to cut or tongue them without cracking or breaking them off; but if treated in this manner the most brittle may be laid without danger. It is a conclusion drawn from several experiments, that the layer which is inserted to a proper depth roots sooner and better than that which is laid near the surface; the reason of which is, at a certain depth the air is better excluded, and there is a more regular degree of moisture for the nourishment of the young fibres when they are protruded. No part of © the shoots should upon any pretence be covered with the mould, except that which is meant to produce roots, as covering the whole renders it extremely liable to rot.” ; es ia im. 68 3s ae } a : J i; idk is Hi] - , fal i; : ; : 296 THE MOIST STOVE. INARCHING TROPICAL PLANTS. There are some sorts of tropical plants, particularly those that are hard-wooded, that are difficult to increase by other means than by seeds, which are often not easy to procure. Recourse then is had to this mode of propagation, which is sufficiently simple in itself, but requires some nicety in the performance. The first consideration in regard to inarching stove plants is to make choice of proper stocks, and these must always be some of the coarser and free-growing species of the same genus, or one nearly related to it, as for example, the common myrtle for the more delicate sort of Myrtus and Pimenta, a genus nearly separated from the former, but sufficiently akin to unite by this process; the Mezereon and Spurge Laurel for the more delicate species of Daphne, the Magnolia obovata for the more tender of its family, and the Olea europea or Ligustrum vulgare var. sempirvirens, for the tropical species of olives, &c. Having selected the proper kind of stock, which should be as nearly of equal diameter to the scion or branch to be united to it as possible, cut a thin slip about two or three inches long and about one-third of the diame- ter in thickness of both the stock and the branch to be united to it, and from off the smoothest part of the stem of each. These two cuts must be made as nearly alike as possible, so as to admit of the bark of each being brought together so as to fit exactly, at least on one side, and be fastened together firmly by tying them round with fresh matting. This being done, the joint is to be covered with well-prepared clay, grafting wax, or fine moss, but in such a manner as perfectly to exclude the air. In eight or ten weeks a union will have taken place ; at all events about that time they may be partially separated from the parent plant by cutting the inarched shoots better than half way through: if they are united, they will bear the operation without flagging their leaves, and in that case may in the course of a few days more be separated entirely, and be placed in a shady part of the stove, or in the propagating pit, where they will soon make good plants. After three or four weeks the matting may be untied and the top of the stock cut off in a neat manner, applying a little clay to the wound to prevent the air or moisture from acting too powerfully upon it. GENEKAL TREATMENT OF TROPICAL PLANTS DURING AUTUMN AND WINTER. By the beginning of September the nights begin to get cold, and often wet; it is then time to prepare the stoves, that is, both the Dry and alse GENERAL TREATMENT IN AUTUMN AND WINTER. 207. the Moist Stove, for their winter’s treatment. In regard to both, ventilation must be gradually lessened, shutting up early in the afternoon, and thereby inclosing as much air heated by the solar rays as will maintain the ne- cessary temperature till morning. This may be sufficient till the second or third week in the month, when slight fires may become necessary, but no positive data can be given on this head, asso much depends upon the state of the weather. The Dry Stove, if the bottom heat be obtained from fermentable matter, such as leaves, tan, &c., should now be regulated by removing a portion of that which has been in a state of fermentation since this time twelvemonth, and by supplying its place with fresh material, to keep up the necessary heat for another season. The flues should be cleared, all necessary repairs of glass, &c., executed, and the house thoroughly cleaned, so as to be in a fit state for the winter. In the Moist Stove the same measures of cleaning, repairing, &c., should be also completed. In both, the supply of water should be lessened, both at the roots and over the tops of the plants, particularly at the former, as plants plunged in any medium always require much less water than those that are exposed to the action of the atmosphere on all sides; sickly plants should also have much less of that element than those that are in perfect health. By the latter end of September, slight fires may be necessary, particu- larly in the Dry Stove ; in the other, the beginning of October will be soon enough. By recommending artificial heat so early, we must be understood to mean only in a very limited degree, for certainly the excess of this element, and more particularly during autumn and early winter, is pro- ductive of much mischief in most collections; and a deficiency of it in February, March, and April, when it is most wanted, is also a fault generally fallen into. All plants, from whatever quarter of the globe they may come, experience a summer and a winter, or some atmospheric change equivalent thereto, during which their functions become torpid to a certain extent, and this may be safely termed their season of rest. In cultivation, something of the same kind should be imitated, and no period is so natural in our northern latitudes as those dark and cheerless months between November and the middle of February. It is contrary to reason and common sense to expect a. plant to continue in a state of uninterrupted excitement, and it is also equally erroneous to force a plant, by dint of artificial heat, to grow during the darkest months we have. Our practice is to let tropical plants rest during November, December, and January, and excite them gradually in February, March, and April. The success of this process will be obvious. Air should be admitted on all mild days, A aE Ee Sa ee 4 | 1 , ii! lh ie rt iy aes : 4 7 t 3 eS . =—S Sten = = sed = == a eae a Re RATE oe one pe ae ety = nachna acoge a = Mees 298 THE MOIST STOVE. but cold and frosty air carefully excluded, for a very limited quantity is sufficient for tropical plants during their period of repose, and nearly that quantity will find its way into the house through the interstices of the glass and other small openings. The fires should be made in the Dry Stove so as to keep the thermometer at sixty or sixty-five degrees, the latter, if the collection contains many very rare plants. The temperature of the Humid Stove by fire heat may range from fifty-two to sixty or sixty- two degrees. This isa matter, although much insisted on by some, in our opinion of very little consequence, for where, let us ask, is there a spot under the sun whose temperature is uniform to within the range of two or three degrees? Water, whether applied to the roots or over the branches, should, during winter, be rendered tepid before used, as it is equally unnatural and dangerous to apply cold water to plants in a high temperature, and produces consequences somewhat analogous to that of animals while excessively heated drinking or bathing in cold water, as has been elsewhere noticed. When the flues are sufficiently heated, and indeed they ought to be so for short periods occasionally, were it for no other purpose, a fine vapour or steam may be created by pouring water over them. Indeed, the regular steaming of a stove is one of the most important features in its management, and for this purpose it is necessary to throw more heat into the house to create the steam than would be advisable under any other consideration. Steaming through the winter is of less importance than in spring, of which notice will be taken. GENERAL TREATMENT OF TROPICAL PLANTS DURING SPRING AND SUMMER. Towards the latter end of February, the plants will be beginning to show symptoms of vegetation ; this must not be hurried on by the aid of fire heat, but the sun will have sufficient power in fine days to raise the temperature a few degrees. Advantage ought to be taken of such a cir- cumstance to admit a moderate quantity of fresh air, which will be of much importance to the plants, and cause them to send their buds out in a vigorous manner, which all the heat that could be applied to them without the aid of air would not be able to accomplish, but the reverse, and would cause the buds to push weakly and the shoots small, and susceptible cf disease and the attacks of insects. The temperature of the Dry Stove may be gradually raised, between the middle of February and the middle of April, from sixty to seventy degrees, and that of the Moist Stove in like manner, but four or five degrees GENERAL TREATMENT IN SPRING AND SUMMER. 299 less. Air must also be admitted in fine days in much greater quantities than during the preceding months, and the operation of steaming per- formed every evening during the whole period, and continued as long as there is sufficient heat kept up by fire in the flues; after which the steaming must be performed in the morning, by syringing the plants and walls of the house all over, and keeping it closely shut up till the sun raises the thermometer to eighty or ninety degrees, or higher, when air may then be admitted, to reduce it to its usual temperature. By following this process, those pests of all hothouses, the mealy bug and red spider, will be completely destroyed, neither of which can exist in a high humid temperature or atmosphere, but the reverse is the very medium that will bring them into existence in swarms. This circumstance, upon the first ap- plication of steam to hothouses, caused an erroneous notion to be attached to that mode of heating, namely, that by it insects were totally suppressed. No such thing is or can be the case where steam is employed, if kept confined in the pipes: it is by its escape from them that this desirable end is effected; and though it was only where the practice was followed of opening these pipes and allowing a portion of the steam to enter the house, that the insects were found to disappear, yet the whole merit was set down to the credit of this mode of heating. The same effect had been observed in houses in which the process of raising steam by pouring water on the flues had been followed ; but keeping the atmosphere of hot- houses damp, was at that time rarely thought of, and hence the indifferent success attending the cuitivation of tropical plants and fruits when com- pared to that of ‘the present day. The application of water by a pretty strong syringe upon the plants, answers also two very important ends, viz., the cleansing of them from dust and insects, and also acting as a substitute for wind, which, in respect to giving strength to plants, has been experimentally proved by the late Mr. T. A. Knight, and other vegetable physiologists, to be of much use, particularly to those placed in situations where this natural agent could not act upon them. The season for shifting tropical plants extends from the end of Feb- ruary to the end of April, at which period the plants begin to grow, and, consequently, to make fresh roots, which is the most proper time for performing this operation on all plants. This should not, however, be | ‘deferred later than the end of April, for by that time the plants will have grown considerably, and would thereby experience a great check if dis- turbed at their roots. Shifting or re-potting plants is a very necessary branch of culture, for ‘when we consider that the quantity of earth contained in a flowerpot is 300 THE MOIST STOVE. so small in comparison to the wants of the plant it has to support, it is natural to suppose that it requires to be changed or augmented, and if this be not done in due time the plants must suffer for want of food. Besides, the mould around the roots becomes, from one cause or other, when left long undisturbed, sour and coagulated, and the plant becomes unable to draw its proper nourishment from it, and of course declines, and becomes either a nuisance in the collection or else perishes altogether. The operation of shifting differs not from that already laid down in respect to the various sections of greenhouse plants, and need not be repeated here. The soil should be richer and more turfy or porous than is used for other plants, the surface containing the grass or other vegetable matter growing on it: as the supply of water is greater, it will find a more ready escape through it than if it were as compact and finely pul- verized as soils usually are. As the process of shifting goes on, a careful examination should take place for the detection of insects which may find shelter under the mat- ting with which they are tied, or in the cliffs of the branches and in the cracks of the bark: these places should be examined, and washed with a thick lather of soft-soap and sulphur; not that there is much efficacy in either, but the friction will do its share, and the soap will cleanse the plants and soften the bark, while its adhesive property will retain a quantity of the sulphur upon the branches, which, igniting by the heat of the sun, will burn off mildew, and probably the red spider also, should either exist on them. The plants should be all neatly tied up as they may require it, that is, those of flexible habits; but other plants if well grown will rarely require support, and certainly will look much better without a prop than with one. The wood-work of the house should be washed clean at this time, as should also be the inner surface of the glass, and every part of the building made neat and clean for the approaching summer. : Water, air, and judicious pruning are all that is required during sum- mer, unless it may happen that the greenhouse be emptied for two or three months during summer, when the hardiest of the stove plants may be set upon the stages of it, which will considerably thin the stove, much to the benefit of the plants. But we have elsewhere observed that it is not @ practice to be recommended, at least where choice greenhouse plants are grown. Many of the more dwarf stove plants, however, may be accom- modated for three or four months during summer in a close frame or pit, where they will be quite as warm as if kept in the stove. Fire-heat should be gradually lessened from the beginning of April till GLORIOSA SUPERBA. ; 301 the middle or end of May, when it may be almost dispensed with. It may also be considerably economised, and the plants thereby benefited, by shutting up the stoves early in the afternoon, so as to inclose as large a portion of solar heat within them as possible: this is a matter sadly overlooked by cultivators in general. In regard to insects, we have already observed, that by following up the system of steaming no bugs will exist, and as for scale, they will in most cases share a similar fate. The red spider and thrips can only exist in a dry atmosphere; if they make their appearance in any hot-house, it is a clear proof that water has not been supplied in sufficient quantity. There are some cases when waiter for particular reasons may be withheld from‘certain plants or parts of a stove: when such is the case, a hot plate of iron held under the part at a distance of two or three feet, anda little flower of brimstone sprinkled gently upon it, will soon destroy them. CULTURE OF CERTAIN FINE-FLOWERING STOVE PLANTS THAT REQUIRE A MODE OF TREATMENT DIFFERENT FROM THE GENERALITY OF TROPICAL PLANTS, &C. GLORIOSA SUPERBA. This splendid plant, as the name fully indicates, is of great beauty and singularity. It is, nevertheless, but rarely met with in collections, and much more rarely is it seen in flower, although few plants are more easily cultivated and flowered. The following directions by the late J. Sweet, of the Bristol nurseries, have been followed by us for several years, and with complete success : —“ Its failure,” he justly observes, “ arises chiefly from the defective method in which the roots are preserved during their inaction, and from the want of proper treatment when they first vegetate in the spring. Injured at these periods, the plants generally continue through the summer weak and unpromising, throwing up only.a few small stems, which do not flower in sufficient strength or beauty.” The following is the essence of his judicious practice. In autumn, when the stems have died down and lIeft the root, which is a considerable sized tuber, perfectly ripe, it is removed in the pot and placed upon the top of the hot-house flue, at a safe distance from the fire, the intention being merely to keep the mould round the tuber perfectly dry; one of the shelves on the back wall of the stove will answer as well. Here it is secured from the water which is used in syringing the house, by invert- ing another pot over it. If the tubers be small, several may be kept in 302 THE MOIST STOVE. the same pot during winter, having the mould made firm round them for the exclusion of air: the same mould that they were grown in should be used for this purpose, for fresh earth or sand, he justly observes, would stimulate them to move early. About the second week in March they. should be potted, putting one or two, according to their size, into each pot, the pots to be six inches over. The soil most congenial to them is fresh loam, mixed with an equal quantity of peat earth, the loam to be not over-much enriched with dung, nor too heavy. The roots are to be parted if fit for separation, but by no means if they do not part freely. They should be planted about two inches deep, and plunged into a bottom heat equal to ninety-five degrees. Water is sparingly applied at first, but increased after.the plants have, set a growing; but this must never be applied in great quantities. If kept in a brisk heat, the shoots will ex- tend for six or eight feet, or more, and will require to be trained to a trellis, or under a rafter, when they will flower in great abundance and perfection. IXORA, a genus of East Indian plants of great beauty, the flowers of which are offered to Ixora, a Malabar idol, in consequence of their splendid appear- ance. Like the last, this is a genus, some of the species of which are met with in most collections of the tropical plants, while it is very rare to see one of them in flower. On the continent this is different, and we find the Jvora coccinea, in particular, cultivated for the public markets. The culture of the genus is, that they require a period of rest, which con- tinues for four or five months, that is, from July till February, when they may be placed in the greenhouse amongst other plants, or in a pit where frost is completely excluded. In February they should be re-potted, and then plunged in a mild moist heat, or set on the surface of a bed of tan, leaves, or dung, in a close pit, and kept in a temperature of from sixty to seventy degrees of heat. In this pit and by this mode of treatment they will show fine heads of flowers by the beginning of April, and may then be removed to the plant stove to flower, where they will continue in great splendour for a long period. GLOXINIA, SINNINGIA,; AND GESNERIA, are three genera of plants, half bulbous and half herbaceous. They require, after flowering, to be kept moderately dry till their leaves and stalks die Re maee bea: t ia platanitolia . eL0L Oo RB Sabrnaz. ( h “ica , “Tt Lf Oe, } } QUISQUALIS, IPOMGA, ETC. 303 down, or become ripened, when they should be set upon a shelf in the stove and kept dry till they show signs of vegetation, or until it may be desirable to bring them again into a state of active growth. At that period they should be shifted and supplied with water, moderately at first, but as they extend in growth it should be augmented. They should be brought to the front of the house to flower, as they are, particularly the two former genera, of dwarf habits, and would otherwise not be seen to advantage. Gloxinia and Gesneria may be increased by planting the footstalk with the leaf attached. The other is readily increased by euttings, and also by the same means. QUISQUALIS AND COMBRETUM. These are two splendid genera of climbing stove plants, requiring to be planted out in the borders of the house, or in large pots. The prin- cipal feature in their culture different from other plants which inhabit the stove is, that while in a deciduous state they should have all*the wood _ of the preceding season’s growth cut into one, or at most to two eyes or buds. By this simple process they will flower abundantly: each shoot, for the most part, which springs, will be furnished with a spike of flowers at its termination. IPOMGA. This is a genus of fine-fiowering climbing plants, with large tuberous roots, and tender herbaceous stems. When these die down the roots should be set upon the shelves, in a dry place, during winter ; in spring they may be taken down and repotted, and placed in a close pit fora week or ten days, when they will have begun to vegetate, at which time they should be brought into the stove and placed near a pillar, rafter, or similar support, to which the shoot should be trained. RHEXIA AND MELASTOMA,. Two numerous and fine-flowering families. During winter they re- quire little water, but not to the extent to render them entirely torpid. These, together with many other half-herbaceous plants, should be placed at one end or corner of the stove, that some attention may be paid to them in this respect. The following judicious remarks on the winter management of tropical 304 THE MOIST STOVE. plants, by the author of the botanical article in the “ Weekly Chronicle ” for November 26th, is so excellent as to meet with our cordial approba- tion, and is, in our opinion, the best directions in the fewest words we have met with, and corresponds with our own practice :-— “There are two distinct states in the existence of every plant ; one, of quietude and repose, the other, of developement and display. The plants which are cultivated in hothouses are chiefly the natives of tropical climates ; and an idea has prevailed with many that they require a steady undiminished heat of from sixty to seventy degrees of Fahrenheit’s ther- mometer. If it be supposed that these high degrees of temperature exist at all seasons in the hot countries, a great mistake is committed; for even in the torrid zone, within a few degrees north and south of the line, severe cold is frequently experienced; and in the hilly districts, unequivocal evidence of actual frost is sometimes afforded. Yet the pine-apple, a plant which flourishes with prodigious luxuriance in the pestilential, yapourous atmosphere of Batavia, and in the close woods of Western Africa, bearing the utmost extremes of heat, will nevertheless sustain a degree of cold below that of the mean temperature of our climates in February, without manifest injury. Beauty, perpetual verdure, and floral developements cannot be forced. Plants will not grow at all seasons. ‘Repose and sleep are required by all created things ; and he who en- deavours to keep up by heat—during darkness, gloom, and frost—those effects of vital action which depend upon light and solar influence, must effect his object at the expense of those stores of supply which have been accumulated for the production of the fresh organs and developements in the ensuing spring. Hothouse plants revel in a moist atmosphere and great heat during the advanced spring and summer months; but they seek rest and freedom from offensive damp during winter: the autumn prepares them for this torpid condition. We must, therefore, gradually desist at this season from raising steam ; indeed, any degree of moisture beyond that which is yielded by the surface soil of the pots is unnecessary. From the commencement of October to the second week in March, let the air be kept dry, water being given in the smallest quantity which will _ E sustain life, and no bad consequences need be apprehended from the cold of the nights. Frost must, at the same time, be guarded against; and a decline of the mercury should not be suffered below forty-eight degrees ; but it is mere waste of health, time, and fuel, to aim et high temperatures, when all they could effect would be to ‘draw’ the plants, without supplying them with any vigour of constitution. The experienced WINTER MANAGEMENT. 305 gardener is aware of these facts, and the above observations may appear trite and uncalled for. We do not, however, address the prac- tical man, but those persons of refined taste, who are desirous to secure all the advantages which a mode of artificial culture under glass may present; and to those genuine lovers of plants we submit the fore- going remarks.” SS \WZg / j 4h hy ea 306 SELECT LIST OF MOIST OR HUMID STOVE PLANTS. WHITE. Largest Hedychium. ( Hedychium maximum.) Flowers in August, in sandy loam. Division of the root. Slender Hedychium. _( Hedychium gracile.) Flowers in June and July, in sandy loam. Division of the root. Broad-leaved Galangale. (Kempferia latifolia. ) Flowers in April and June, in sandy loam. Division of the root. Galanga. ( Kempferia galanga. ) Flowers from June to Septembef, a ead loam. Division of the Upr veht Globba. ( Globba erecta.) Flowers from June to J uly, in sandy loam. Division of the root. White Ixora. (Zvora alba.) Flowers from June to August, in peaty loam. Cuttings. Indian Pavetta. ( Pavetta indica. ) Flowers from August to October, in peaty loam. Cuttings. Cingalese Leadwort. *(Plumbago 2s yy - lanica.) Flowers from April to Sep- tember, in sandy peat. Suckers. Sweet-scented Brugmansia. ( Brug- mansia suaveolens. ) Flowers from August to September, in loamy peat. Cuttings. White-stalked Brugmansia. ( Brug- mansia candida.) Flowers from Au- ust to September, in loamy peat. uttings. Jussieus’ sTheophrasta. (Theophrasta Jussiei.) Flowers in June and July, in rich mould. Seeds. Long - leaved Theophrasta. ( Theo- phrasta longifolia.) Flowers in June and July, in rich mould. Cuttings. Bracelet Jacquinia. (Ja@cquinia ar- millaris.) Flowers in Juneand July, in peaty loam. Cuttings. Dotted Ardisia. (dArdisia punctata.) Flowers in June and August, in sandy loam. Cuttings. Haves Nightshade. (Solanum race- mosum.) Flowers in July and Au- gust, in common mould. Cuttings. Netted Nightshade. (Solanum reticu- latum.) “Flowers in June and July, in peaty loam. Cuttings. American Rondoletia. ( Rondoletia americana.) Flowers in August, in sandy peat. Cuttings. 4 Panicled Rondoletia. ( Rondoletia paniculata.) Flowers from June to August, in sandy peat. Cuttings. Great - flowered Portlandia. ( Port- landia grandiflora.) Flowers from June to August, in sandy peat. Cut- tings. Rooting Gardenia. (Gardenia radi- cans.) Flowers from March to June, in rich mould. Cuttings. Sweet-scented Aralia. ( Aralia Sra- grans.) Flowers in June and July, in sandy loam. Cuttings. Broad-leaved Commersonia. ( Com- mersonia plaiyphylla.) Flowers in June and July, inloamy peat. Cut- tings. Rough Richardsonia. (Richardsonia scabra.) Flowers in September, in loamy peat. Cuttings. Pubescent Seaside Grape. (Coccoloba pubescens.) Flowers from June to September, in rich mould. Cut- tings. I True Cinnamon. (Cinnamomum ve--—— um.) Flowers from June to Sep- tember, in sandy peat. Cuttings. Crista Brasilletto. ( Cesalpinia Crista.) Flowers from June to Au- gust, in peaty loam. Seeds. Sweet Prosopis. (Prosopis dulcis. ) Flowers in June and July, in sandy peat. Seeds. SELECT LIST OF MOIST STOVE PLANTS. One-leaved Atalantia. (Atalantia mo- nophylia.) Flowers from June to August, inrich mould. Cuttings. Dotted Wampa Tree. (Cookia punc- tata.) Flowers in July and August, in rich mould. Cuttings. Octandrous Melastoma. (Melastoma octandra.) Flowers from July to September, in loamy peat. Cuttings. Xiphium-like Tillandsia. (Tillandsia Aiphioides.) Flowers in Juiy and August, in sandy peat. Suckers. Terminal Dracena. ( Dracena ter- minalis.) Flowers in June and July, in peaty loam. Cuttings. fron Dracena. (Dracene ferrea. ) Flowers in March and April, in peaty loam. Division of the roots. Long-fiowered Hillia. (Hillia longi- flora.) Flowers in February and March, in sandy peat. Cuttings. Woolly Sophora. (Sophora tomentosa.) Flowers from August to October, in peaty loam. Cuttings. Divaricate Mountain Ebony. ( Bau- hinia divaricata.) Flowers in June and September, in loamy peat. Cut- tings. Lamark’s Mountain Ebony. (Bauhinia Lamarkiana.) Flowers from June to September, in sandy loam. Cut- tings. Superb Bead Tree. (Melia superba.) Flowers from June to August, in loamy peat. Cuttings. Exotic Murraya. (Murraya exotica.) Flowers from August to September, inrich mould. Cuttings. Panicled Murraya. (Murraya panicu- fata.) Flowers in July and August, inrich mould. Cuttings. White-leaved Chitonia. (Chitonia al- bicans.) Flowers in July and Sep- tember, in loamy peat. Cuttings. Pyramidal Chitonia. (Chitonia pyra- midalis.) Flowers in July and An- re in loamy peat. Cuttings. ite-flowered Jamaica Rose. (Meri- ana leucantha.) Flowers from June to August, in peaty loam. Cuttings. White Canella. (Canella alba.) Flow- _ ers in April and May, in rich loam. Cuttings. _Pinnate Swartzia. (Swartzia pinnata.) Flowers in June and July, in peaty loam. Cuttings. ee oo hl 307 Halbert-leaved Clerodendrum. (Cle- rodendrum hastatum.) Flowers in June and July, in sandy loam. Cut- tings. One-flowered Franciscea. (Franciscea uniflora.) Flowers from June to August, in loamy peat. Cuttings. Plane-leaved Begonia. (Begonia pla- tanifolia.) Flowers in July and Au- gust, inrich mould. Cuttings. Blood-red Begonia. ( Begonia san- guinea.) Flowers in May and June, in rich mould. Cuttings. Single - winged Begonia. ( Begonia monoptera.) Flowers in June and July, inrich mould. Cuttings. Dr. Fisher’s Begonia. ( Begonia Fisherti.) Flowers in May and June, in rich mould. Cuttings. Changeable Hibiscus. (Hibiscus mu- tabilis.) Flowers from October to December, in peaty loam. Cuttings. Most Fragrant Galipea. ( Galipea odoratissima.) Flowers from May to July, in loamy peat. Cuttings. Various - coloured Aciotis. ( Aciotis discolor.) Flowers from July to Sep- tember, in peaty loam. Cuttings. Three-nerved Blakea. ( Blakea tri- nerva.) Flowers in June and July, in sandy peat. Layers. Spiny Caper Tree. (Capparis spinosa.) Flowers from May to August, in sandy loam. Cuttings. Cork - barked Gautteria. (Gautteria suberosa.) Flowers in July and Au- gust, in peaty loam. Cuttings. Cunningham’s Eurycles. ( Hurycles Cunninghamii.) Flowers in March and April, in sandy loam. Offsets. Bowie’s Randia. (Randia Bowieana.) Flowers in July and August, in loamy peat. Cuttings. Large-fiowered Eleocarpus. ( Hl@o- carpus grandifiorus.) Flowers in June and July, in peaty loam. Cut- tings. Heller’s Sinningia. (Sinningia Hel- leri.) Flowers in June and July, in peaty loam. Cuttings. Sweet Lippia. (Lippia dulcis.) Flow- ers from June to September, in peaty loam. Division of the plant. August Gustavia. (Gustavia augusta.) Flowers in July and August, in rich mould. Cuttings. YELLOW. Yellow Arrow Root. Flowers from June to in sandy loam. August, Division of the (Maranta lutea.) Garland Hedychium. ( Hedychium coronarium.) Flowers from June to September, in peaty loam. Division of the root. 2 308 Yellow Hedychium. ( Hedychium jiavum.) Flowers from June to Au- gust, in sandy loam. Division of the roots. Yellow - tufted Justicia. ( Justicia fiavicoma.) Flowers from July to September, in peaty loam. Cut- tings. North’s Marica. (Marica Northiana.) Flowers from April to August, in sandy peat. Division of the plant. Yellow Ixora. (Ivora flava.) Flowers from June to September, in peaty loam. Cuttings. Large-bellied Hamellia. ( Hamellia ventricosa.) Flowers from Septem- ber to November, in peaty loam. Cuttings. Sweet-scented Hamellia. ( Hamellia odorata.) Flowers from August to September, in peaty loam. Cut- tings. Eiegant Turnera. (Turnera elegans.) Flowers from April to September, in sandy peat. Cuttings. Rock Turnera. (Turnera rupesiris.) Flowers from June to September, in sandy peat. Seeds. Unarmed Mountain Ebony. (Bauhinia jnermis.) Flowers from June to August, in peaty loam. Cuttings. Tall Flower Fence. (Poinciana elata.) Flowers in June and July, in rich mould. Seeds. Panicled Brasiletto. ( Cesalpinia paniculata.) Flowers from July to _ September, in peaty loam. Seeds. Sappan Brasiletto. (Cesalpinia Sap- pan.) Flowersfrom June to August, in loamy peat. Cuttings. Fiavescent Calathea. ( Calathea flave- scens.) Flowersin July and August, in sandy loam. Division of the plant. Lefty Ginger. (Zingiber elatum. ) Flowers from July to September, in _ sandy loam. Division of the root. Pendulous Globba. (Glodba pendula.) Flowers from June to Septembe . ~ sandy loam. . Division of the plant. Racemose Globba. (Globba racemosa.) Flowers in June and July, in sandy ioam. Division of the root. American Buddlea. (Buddlea ameri- cana.) Flowers in August, in loamy peat. Cuttings. Cathartic Allamanda. ( dAllamanda cathartica.) Flowers in June and July, in rich mould. Cuttings. Flowery Gardenia. (Gardenia florida.) Flowers from July to October, in loamy peat. Cuttings. Queen’s Strelitzia. (Strelitzia regine.) Flowers from April to June, in peaty loam. Suckers. | ? THE MOIST STOVE. August Strelitzia. (Strelitzia augusta. Flowers from May to July, in peaty loam. Suckers. Sulphur - flowered Pitcairnia. ( Pit- cairnia sulphurea.) Flowers from June to August, in sandy peat. Suckers. Showy Cassia. (Cassia speciosa. ) Flowers in June and July, in loamy peat. Cuttings. Bundle - flowered Cassia. ( Cassia Jloribunda.) Flowers from July to September, in loamy peat. Cuttings. Twiggy Cassia. (Cassia vimined. ) Flowers in July and August, in peaty loam. Cuttings. Sickle-leaved Hoffmanseggia. (Hoff- manseggia falcaria.) Flowers in July and August, in sandy loam. Cuttings. . Campechy Logwood. (Hematoxylon Campechianum.) Flowers in June and July, in rich mould. Seeds. Smooth-leaved Button-flower. (Gom- phia levigata.) Flowers in July and August, in sandy loam. Cuttings. Ceylon Button-flower. (Gomphia zey- lanica.) Flowers from June to Au- gust, in sandy loam. Cuttings. Olive Bark Tree. (Bucida Buceras.) Flowers from August to October, in loamy peat. Cuttings. ; Broad-leaved Bassia. (Bassia lati- folia.) Flowers from May to July, in peaty loam. Cuttings. Tall Brownlowia. (Brownlowia elata.) Flowers from May to July, in peaty loam. Cuttings. Blunted Ochna. ( Ochna obtusata. ) Flowers from July to August, in loamy peat. Cuttings. Large - flowered Swartzia. (Swartzia grandifiora.) Flowers in June and July, in peaty loam. Cuttings. Velvety Sinningia. (Sinningia velu- tina.) Flowers from May to July, in peaty loam. Cuttings. Fair Crotalaria. (Crotalaria pulchra.) Flowers from March to May, in peaty -loam. Seeds. - Pendulous Crotalaria. ( Crotalaria pendula.) Flowers from July to Sep- tember, in sandy loam. Cuttings. Lotus-leaved Crotalaria. (Crotalaria lotifolia.) Flowers from June to August, in common mould. Seeds. Falcate Adenanthera. (Adenanihera falcata.) Flowers from May to Au- gust, in sandy.loam. Cuttings. | Spike-bearing Prosopis. (Prosopis spicigera.) Flowers from July to September, in rich mould. Seeas. Pinnate Hardwickia. ( Hardwickia pinnata.) Flowers from June to Au- gust, in peaty loam. Cuttings. PA ee ie, ee Se P= Seager om 2 > hs Pay 5 —— So ————- = ites adie oc tes We nthenS afin 65 Lo MAE Nw sepa” A ———-——-« Ee aeres ae SSS | aloes a e~ 7 : rs 2 > 5 = ~ mead > = Saag ws » = me SELECT LIST OF MOIST STOVE PLANTS. 509 Silvery Bunchosia. ( Bunchosia ar- gentea.) Flowers from March to May, in peaty loam. Cuttings. Smooth Olibanum Tree. ( Boswellia glabra.) Flowers from May to July, in loamy peat. Cuttings. Silky Banisteria. (Banisteria sericea.) Flowers from June to August, in loamy peat. Cuttings. Pilose Triumfetta. (Triumfetta pilosa.) Flowers from June to August, in loamy peat. Cuttings. Large-flowered Triumfetta. (Trium- fetta grandifiora.) Flowers from June to August, in loamy peat. Cuttings. Yellow Grevia. (Greviafiava.) Flowers from July to September, in peaty loam. Cuttings. - Hairy Corchorus. (Corchorus hirtus.) Flowers from June to August, in peaty loam. Seeds. Showy - flowered Dillenia. ( Dillenia speciosa.) Flowers in July and Au- gust, in peaty loam. Cuttings. American Brunsfelsia. (Brunsfelsia americana.) Flowers in June and July, in rich mould. Cuttings. Neat Besleria. (Besleria pulchella.) Flowers in July and August, in loamy peat. Cuttings. Large -leaved Besleria. ( Besleria grandiflora.) Flowers from July to September, in loamy peat. Cut- tings Erect Stylosanthes. ( Stylosanthes erecta.) Flowers from July to Sep- tember, in sandy peat. Cuttings. Mucronate Stylosanthes. (Stylosan- thes mucronata.) Flowers in July and August, in sandy peat. Cut- tings. Broad-leaved Cotton. (Gossypium lati- folium.) Flowers from July to Sep- tember, in sandy peat. Cuttings. Cavanilles Lobelia. (Lobelia Cava- nillesiana.) Flowers from June to August, in sandy peat. Cuttings. Prickly - seeded Pavonia. ( Pavonia spinifex.) Flowers in July and Au- gust, in sandy loam. Cuttings. Five-lobed Hibiscus. (Hibiscus quin- guefolius.) Flowers in June and 5 uly, in sandy peat. Cuttings. Sweet-scented Magnolia. (Magnolia odoratissima.) Flowers from July to September, in peaty loam. Grafts. Shining Laurel. (Laurus splendens.) Flowers in July and August, in loamy peat. Cuttings. PURPLE. Long - bracted Calathea. ( Calathea longibracteata. ) Flowers in July and August, in sandy loam. Divi- sion of the roots. Dancing Girls. (Mantisia saltatoria.) Flowers from June to August, in sandy loam. Division of the root. Captain Sabine’s Marica. ( Marica Sabini.) Flowers in August, in peaty loam. Division of the roots. Decurrent Lobelia. (Lobelia decur- rens.) Flowers from June to Sep- tember, in sandy peat. Cuttings. Peach-leaved Lobelia. (Lobelia persi- cifolia.) Flowers in June and July, in sandy peat. Division of the plant. Glaucous Sophora. (Sophora glauca.) Flowers from August to September, In sandy loam. Cuttings. Purple Mountain Ebony. purpurea.) Flowers from June to September, j om. Cuttings. Long-fruited ee ( Melasto- ma macrocar oo. Flowers from June to August, in sandy peat. Cut- tings. Elegant Galangale. (Kempferia ele- gans.) Flowers from July to Sep- tember, in sandy loam. Division of the plant. Showy Justicia. (Justicia speciosa.) (Bauhinia - Flowers in August and September, in peaty loam. Cuttings. Beautiful Justicia. (Justicia venusta.) Flowers from September to October, in loamy peat. Cuttings. Pubescent Nightshade. (Solanum pubescens.) “Flowers from June to August, insandyloam. Cuttings. Clustered Nightshade. (Solanum aggre- gatum.) Flowers in June and July, in sandy peat. Cuttings. Purple Barbacenia. (Barbacenia oS purea.) Flowers from July to Sep- tember, in sandy loam. Division of the root. Malabar Spider Wort. - (Tradescantia malabarica.) Flowers from July to September, in rich mould. Suckers. Crowded Charlwoodia. (Charlwoodia congesta.) Flowers from March to May, in peaty loam. Cuttings. Fothergill’s Chitonia. ( Chitonia Fothe: ‘gillti.) Flowers in July and August, in loamy peat. Cuttings. Heteromallous Pleroma. ( Pleroma heteromalla.) Flowers from June to September, in loamy peat. Cut- tings. Purple Anotta. _( Bixa purpvrea. ) Flowers from June to August, in sandy peat. Seeds. crews 310 ParpleLantana. (Lantana purpurea.) Flowers from June to September, in — peaty loam. Cuttings. Upright Lantana. (Lantana erecta.) Flowers from June to August, in peaty loam. Cuttings. Purple Lippia. ( Lippia purpurea. ) Flowers in June and July, in peaty loam. Cuttings. Many-cleft Urena. (Urena multifida.) Flowers from January to October, in peaty loam. Cuttings. Siender Chetogastra. ( Chetogastra gracilis.) Flowers in June and July, in peaty loam. Cuttings. Purple Jamaica Rose. (Meriana pur- purea.) Flowers in June and July, in peaty loam. Cuttings. Decandrous Cuphea. (Cuphea de- candra.) Flowers from June to October, in peaty loam. Cuttings. THE MOIST STOVE. Slender Cuphea. (Cuphea gracilis.) Flowers in July and August, in sandy loam. Cuttings. Showy Gloxinia. (Gloxinia speciosa.) Flowers from June to August, in sandy peat. Cuttings. Caulescent Gloxinia. (Gloxinia caule- scens.) Flowers from July to Sep- tember, in peaty loam. Division of the plant. Asiatic Torenia. (Torenia asiatica.) Flowers from July to September, in sandy loam. Seeds. Diffuse Torenia. ( Torenia diffusa.) Flowers from July to September, in sandy loam. Seeds. Silver-leaved Indigo. (Indigofera ar- gentea.) Flowers in July and Au- gust, in sandy peat. Cuttings. SCARLET. Scarlet Hedychium. (Hedychium coe- cineum.) Flowers in July and Au- gust, in sandy loam. Division of the plant. Shining Ixora. (Ivora fulgens.) Flow- ers from June to August, in peaty loam. Cuttings. Strict Ixora. ([vora stricta.) Flowers in July and August, in peaty loam. Cuttings. Scarlet Justicia. (Justicia coccinea.) Flowers from March to May, in peaty loam. Cuttings. Scarlet Manetta. (Maneéfa coccinea.) Flowers from May to July, in loamy peat. Cuttings. Scarlet Portlandia. (Portlandia coc- Scarlet Brownea. (Brownea coccinea.) Flowers from July to August, in rich loam. Cuttings. Broad - leaved Brownea. ( Brownea latifolia.) Flowers from June to August, in sandy loam. Cuttings. Showy Barringtonia. ( Barringtonia speciosa.) Flowers from April to June, inrich mould. Seeds. Broad-leaved Pitcairnia. (Pitcairnia latifolia.) Flowers from August to September, in sandy peat. Suckers. Iris-flowered Pitcairnia. (Pitcairnia iridiflora.) Flowers from June to August, in rich mould. Suckers. Scarlet Jamaica Rose. (Meriana coe- einea.) Flowers in June and July, cinea.) Flowers from June to Au- in peaty loam. Cuttings. gust, in sandy peat. Cuttings. Long-flowered Grissomeria. (Grisso- Curassoa Swallow-wort. (dAsclepias meria longifiora.) Flowers in July curassaviea.) Flowers from June to September, in rich mould. Seeds. Plaited Molineria. (Molineria plicata.) Flowers in August, in peaty loam. Division of the plant. Bulbous Gesneria. (Gesneria bulbosa.) Flowers in May and June, in peaty loam. Division of the root. Corymbose Gesneria. ( Gesneria corymbosa.) Flowers from June to August, in peaty loam. Cuttings. Scaled Clerodendrum. (Clerodendrum sguamatum.) Flowers from June to September, in sandy peat. Cut- tings. and August, in loamy peat. Cut- tings. Scarlet Lantana. (Lantana coccinea.) Flowers from June to September, in peaty loam. Cuttings. Scarlet Trevirana. ( Trevirana coe- cinea.) Flowers from August to September, in loamy peat. Division of the root. Scarlet Pavonia. (Pavonia coccinea.) Flowers in July and August, in 2 sandy loam. Cuttings. ; Soft Malvaviscus. (Malvaviscus mollis.) —_ Flowers from August to September, in peaty loam. Cuttings. RED. Panicled Ardisia. (Ardisia paniculata.) S e Flowers in July and August, in © sandy loam. Cuttings. Si Zebra Plant. (Calathea zebrina. ) Flowers in June, in sandy peat. Division of the root. SELECT LIST OF MOIST STOVE PLANTS. 311 Simple Spathelia. (Spathelia simplex.) | floribunda.) Flowers from June to Flowers in July and August, in sandy August, in sandy peat. Cuttings. peat. Seeds. Rush -leaved Russelia. ( Russelia Downy Grislea. (Grislea tomentosa.) juncea.) Flowers from April to June, Flowers in May and June, in sandy in sandy peat. Cuttings. peat. Cuttings. Mahogany ‘Tree. (Swietenia ma- Elongated Justicia. (Justicia elongata.) hogani.) Flowers from June to Au- Flowers from May to July, in peaty gust, in peaty loam. - Cuttings. loam. Cuttings. Shining Bunchosia. (Bunchosia ni- Rosy Leadwort. (Plumbago rosea.) tida.) Flowers in July and August, Flowers from March to July, in rich in peaty loam. Cuttings. mould. Suckers. Bilimbi Tree. (Averrhoa bilimbi. ) Rosy Periwinkle. ( Vinca rosea. ) Flowers from August to September, Flowers from March to October, in in sandy loam. Cuttings. rich mould. Cuttings. Queen’s Lagerstremia. (Lagerstre- Stem-flowering Cynometra. ( Cyno- mia reginé.) Flowers from August to October, in sandy loam. Cut- tings. Large-flowered Lagerstremia. (La- gerstremia grandifiora.) Flowers from June to August, in sandy loam. metra caulifiora.) Flowers in June and July, in sandy loam and peat. Cuttings. Fair Flower-fence. - ( Poinciana pul- cherrima.) Flowers from June to September, in rich mould. Cuttings. Cuttings. Siliquose Corchorus. (Corchorus sili- Netted Urena. (Urena reticulata.) gust, in loamy peat. Cuttings. loam. Seeds. Brilliant Gesneria. (Gesneria rutila.) | Fragrant Pavonia. (Pavonia odorata.) Flowers from August to September, Flowers in June and July, in sandy in peaty loam. Cuttings. loam. Cuttings. Many-flowered Russelia. ( Russelia | Chinese Rose Hibiscus. ( Hibiscus multifiora.) Flowers from June to Rosa sinensis.) Flowers from July August, in sandy peat. Cuttings. to September, in peaty loam. Cut- quosus.) Flowers from June to Au- | Flowers in July and August, in peaty Bundle-fiowered Russelia. ( Russelia tings. PINK. Flesh-coloured Hedychium. (Hedy- | Hairy Rondeletia. (Rondeletia hirta.) _ chium carneum.) Flowers from June Flowers from June to August, in to August, in sandy loam. Division sandy peat. Cuttings. of the root. Fair Tillandsia. (Tillandsia pulchra.) Bracted Bromelia. (Bromelia brac- Flowers from November to January, teata.) Flowers in September and in rich mouid. Suckers. October, in rich mould. Suckers. Aloe-leaved Tillandsia. ( Tillandsia g¢ Rhexia. (Rhevia versi- aloefolia.) Flowers from November color.) Flowers in July and Au- to December, in sandy peat. Suck- gust, in sandy peat. Cuttings. ers. Bloody Melastoma. (Melastoma san- Incarnate Begonia. (Begonia inear- guinea.) Flowers in September and nata.) Flowers from August to Oc- October, in peaty loam. Cuttings. tober, in peaty loam. Ojifsets. Panicled Justicia. (Justicia panicu- | Wallich’s Astrapea. (Astrapea Wal- lata.) Flowers from July to Sep- lichii.) Flowers in-July and Au- tember, in peaty loam. Seeds. gust, in sandy peat. Cuttings. BLUE. Oval Galangale. (Kempferia ovali- pulchellum.) Flowers from June to . folia.) Flowers in July, in sandy September, in sandy peat. Cut- loam. Division of the root. tings. Margined Galangale. ( Kempferia | Showy Spider Wort. (Tradescentia marginata.) Flowers in April and speciosa.) Flowers in July and Au- May, in sandy loam. Division of gust, in rich mould. Division of the the root. . plant. Pretty Eranthemum. (Eranthemum 312 Slender Dichorizandra. ( Dichori- | zandra gracilis.) Flowers from June to August, in rich mould. Division of the plant. Mimose-leaved Jacaranda. (Jacaranda mimosifolia.) Flowers in April and May, in peaty loam. Cuttings. Painted Ruellia. ( Ruwellia picta. ) Flowers from April to August, in peaty loam. Cuttings. Elegant Ruellia. ( Rwuellia elegans.) Flowers from June to August, in peaty loam. Cuttings. Expelling Justicia. (Justicia Ecbolium.) Flowers from March to August, in peaty loam. Cuttings. Lovely Justicia. (Justicia amabilis.) THE MOIST STOVE. Flowers in June and July, in loamy peat. Cuttings. Strict Tillandsia. (Tillandsia stricta.) Flowers in June and July, in sandy peat. Suckers. Slender-leaved Tillandsia. (Tillandsia tenuifolia.) Flowers in June and July, in sandy peat. Suckers. Hairy Gloxinia. (Gloxinia hirsuta.) Flowers from June to August, in sandy peat. Division of the plant. Many-flowered Erisma. (Erisma flori- bunda.) Flowers from September to November, in common loam. Cut- tings. Dancing Girls. (Mantisia spathulata.) Flowers in June and July, in sandy loam. Division of the root. CRIMSON. Painted Justicia. (Justicia picta.) Flowers in June and July, in peaty loam. Cuttings. Cuba Red Wood. (Ceanothus cuben- sis.) Flowers in July and August, in peaty loam. Cuttings. FLESH-COLOURED. Flesh - coloured Justicia. ( Justicia carnea.) Flowers from August to September, in loamy peat. Cut- tings. Rosy Ixora. (Jxvora rosea.) Flowers from June to August, in peaty loam. Cuttings. Bandhooka Ixora. (Ivora Bandhooka.) Flowers in July, in peaty loam. Cut- tings. Flesh-coloured Ixora. ([xera incar- nata.) Flowers from August to Sep- tember, in peaty loam. Cuttings. Heracleum-leaved Begonia. (Begonia heracleifolia.) Flowers from March to August, in rich mould. Division of the plant. Remarkable Begonia. (Begonia in- signis.) Flowers from December to February, in loamy peat. Cuttings. GREEN. Three - coloured Guzmania. ( Guz- mania tricolor.) Flowers in May and June, in rich mould. Suckers. Carambola Tree. (Averrhoa caram- bola.) Flowers from August to Sep- tember, in sandy loam. Cuttings. Cassia Cinnamon. ( Cinnamomum Cassia.) Flowers from May to Sep- tember, in sandy peat. Cuttings. Camphor Tree. (Cinnamomum Cam- phora.) Flowers from March to June, in loamy peat. Cuttings. ORANGE. Madagascar Buddlea. -(Buddlea ma- dagascariensis.) Flowers from June to August, in loamy peat. Cut- tings. Le Orange -flowered Jacquinia. (Jac- gquinia aurantiacea.) Flowers from April to September, in peaty loam. Cuttings. Horrid Coulteria. (Coulteria horrida.) Flowers from June to August, in peaty loam. Seeds. Great-flowered Ixora. (Zvera grandi- Jiora.) Flowers from June to Sep- tember, in loamy peat. Cuttings. Saffron-coloured Ixora. (Jvxora ero- cata.) Flowers from August to Oc- tober, in peaty loam. Cuttings. Wave - leaved Crossandra. ( Cros- sandra undulefolia.) Flowers in June and July, in peaty loam. Cut- tings. SELECT LIST OF TROPICAL CLIMBING PLANTS. 313 VIOLET. Long-flowered Nightshade. (Solanum longifiorum. ) Flowers from June to August, in peaty loam. Cut- tings. Mexican Nightshade. (Solanum mexi- canum.) Flowers in June and July, in peaty loam. Cuttings. Violet-coloured Brunsfelsia. (Bruns- felsia violacea.) Flowers in July and August, in rich mould. Cuttings. VARIEGATED. Douglass’s Gesneria. (Gesneria Dou- glassti.) Flowers from September to October, in peaty loam. Cuttings. Spotted Sinningia. (Sinningia gut- tata.) Flowers from May to July, in peaty loam. Cuttings. SELECT LIST OF TROPICAL CLIMBING PLANTS. WHITE. Narrow-leaved Jasmine. ( Jasminum angustifolium.) Flowers most of the _year, in sandy loam. Cuttings. Zambac Jasmine. (Jasminum Sambac.) Flowers half the year, in rich mould. Cuttings. Climbing Jasmine. (Jasminum scan- dens.) Flowers in July, in common mould. Cuttings. Three-nerved Jasmine. (Jasminum trinerve.) Flowersin June and July, in loam and peat. Cuttings. Flexible Jasmine. (Jasminum flexile.) Flowers in April and May, in rich mould. Cuttings. Climbing Plax. (Plax scandens. ) Flowers nearly all the year, in loam and peat. Cuttings. _ Climbing Leadwort. (Plumbago scan- dens.) Flowers in July and August, - in sandy peat. Suckers. West Indian Leadwort. ( Plumbago occidentalis.) Flowers in April, in loamy peat. Cuttings. Great - flowered Ipomea. (Ipomea grandifiora.) Flowers in September, in sandy loam. Suckers. Smooth Bindweed. ( Convolvulus glaber.) Flowers in May and June, in peat andloam. Cuttings. Guiana Bindweed. (Convolvulus guia- nensis.) Flowers in June and August, in common mould. Cuttings. Twining Porana. (Porana volubilis.) Flowers in July and August, in peat and loam. Suckers. Panicled Dinetus. (Dinetus panicu- lata.) Flowers from August to Sep- tember, in peaty loam. Cuttings. Large-flowered Beaumontia. (Beau- montia grandiflora.) Flowers in July, in peaty loam. Cuttings. Twin-flowered Echites. (Echites 6i- Jlora.) Flowers in July, in peat and loam. Cuttings. -Long-flowered Echites. -(Echites longi- flora.) Flowers from May to August, in peat andloam. Cuttings. Trellis Vallaris. (Vallaris pergulanus.) Flowers most of the year, in peat and loam. Cuttings. Shining Solandra. (Solandra nitida.) Flowers all the year, in loamy peat. Cuttings. Nodding Staff Tree. ( Celastrus nutans.) Flowers nearly allthe year, in loamy peat. Cuttings. Climbing Melodinus. ( Melodinus scandens.) Flowers in July and Au- gust, in sandy peat. Cuttings. 314 THE MOIST STOVE. Monogynous Melodinus. (Melodinus monogynus.) Flowers in July and August, in rich mould. Cuttings. Emetic Secamone. (Secamone emetica.) Flowers in June and July, in sandy peat and loam. Cuttings. Globose Sacrolobus. (Sacrolobus glo- bosus.) Flowers in June and July, in peat and loam. Cuttings. Twiggy Asparagus. (Asparagus sar- mentosus.) Flowers in August, in rich mould. Division of the root. Decandrous Combretum. (Combretum decandrum.) Flowers in July, in rich mould. Cuttings. Racemose Combretum. (Combretum racemosum.) Flowers in July and August, in rich mould. Cuttings. Sinuate -leaved Seriana. (Seriana sinuata.) Flowers in July and Au- gust, in common mould. Cuttings. Rusty Urvillea. (Urvillea ferru- ginea.) Flowers from May to July, in sandy peat. Cuttings. Large-flowered Cardiospermum. (Car- diospermum grandiflorum.) Flowers in July and August, in sandy loam. Cuttings. Climbing Mountain Ebony. ( Bau- hinia scandens.) Flowers from May to July, in light loam. Cuttings. Showy Mountain Ebony. ( Bauhinia speciosa.) Flowers from June to July, in light loam. Cuttings. Clustered Gertnera. (Gertnera race- mosa.) Flowers in March and April, in peat and loam. Cuttings. Obtuse-leaved Gertnera. ( Gertnera obtusifolia.) Flowers in April and May, in peat and loam. Cuttings. Fragrant Richiea. (Richiea fragrans.) Flowers in June and July, in rich mould. Cuttings. Caripe Virgin’s Bower. ( Clematis caripensis.) Flowers from June to August, in peat andloam. Layers. Fragrant Thunbergia. ( Thunbergia Sragrans.) Flowers most of the year, in peat andloam. Cuttings. Twining Clerodendrum. ( Cleroden- drum volubile.) Flowers from June to July, in peat and loam. Cuttings. Eatable Passion - flower. ( Passiflora edulis.) Flowers in July and August, in loamy peat. Cuttings. Hairy Passion - flower. ( Passiflora hirsuta.) Flowers in September and October, in loamy peat. Cuttings. Racemose Nissolia. ( Nissolia race- mosa.) Flowers from June to Au- gust, in sandy loam. Cuttings. Cochinchinese Mieranthus. (Mieran- thus cochinchinensis.) Flowers from June to August, in common mould. Suckers. Net-leaved Rhynchosia. (Rhynchosia reticulata.) Flowers from July to September, in peaty loam. Cut- tings. Jacquin’s Dolichos. (Dolichos Jac- guinii.) Flowers in July and August, in sandy loam. Cuttings. White-flowered Cylista. (Cylista albi- flora.) Flowers in April and May, in peaty loam. Cuttings. Twining Dalbergia. (Dalbergia volu- bilis.) Flowers in May and June, in sandy loam. Cuttings. ; Sweet-scented Mikania. ( Mikania suaveolens.) Flowers in August, in common mould. Cuttings. GREEN. Obcordate Hypocratea. (Hypocratea and August, in loamy peat. Cut- obcordata.) Flowers in July and Au- tings. gust, in peaty loam. Cuttings. Green-flowered Cynanchum. (Cynan- Obtuse -leaved Hypocratea. (Hypo- cratea obtusifolia.) Flowers in June and July, in peaty loam. Cuttings. Climbing Tonsella. ( Tonselia scan- dens.) Flowers in August, in sandy loam. Cuttings. Climbing Messerschmidia. (Messer- -- &chmidia scandens.) Flowers in July and August, in peaty loam. Cut- tings. Wave-leaved Cynanchum. ( Cynan- chum undatum.) Flowers in July and August, in loamy peat. Cut- tings. Sharp-pointed Cynanchum. (‘Cynan- chum mucronatum.) Flowers in July - Keeled Sarcolobus. chum viridiflorum.) Flowers in Oc- tober, in loamy peat. Cuttings. Smail-flowered Metastelma. ( Meta- stelma parvifiorum.) Flowers in July and August, in peaty loam. Cut- tings. Wood Gymnema. (Gymnema sylvestre.) — - Flowers in July and August, in loamy peat. Cuttings. ( Sarcolobus ca- rvinatus.) Flowers in June and July, in peaty loam, Cuttings. Sea-shore Gonolobus. ( Gonolobus maritimus.) Flowers in June and July, in peaty loam. Cuttings. SELECT LIST OF TROPICAL CLIMBING PLANTS. Cork-barked Gonolobus. (Gonolobus _ suberosus.) Flowers in July and Au- gust, in peaty loam. Cuttings. Large-flowered Gonolobus. (Gonolobus grandifiorus.) Flowers*in July and August, in peaty loam. Cuttings. Bmetic Diplolepis. (Diplolepis vomi- toria.) Flowers in June and July, in peaty loam. Cuttings. Ovate Diplolepis. (Diplolepis ovata.) Flowers in June and July, in peaty loam. Cuttings. Sweet-scented Pergularia. (Pergularia odoratissima.) Flowers in June and July, inrich mould. Cuttings. Bloody Pergularia. (Pergularia san- guinolenta.) Flowers in July and August, in rich mould. Cuttings. Diecious Virgin’s Bower. (Clematis dioica.) Flowers in May and June, in sandy peat. Layers. Twining Tragia. ( Tragia volubilis.) Flowers in June and July, in common mould. Cuttings. Pedunculed Tragia. (Tragia peduncu- lata.) Flowers in June and July, in common mould. Cuttings. Climbing Phyllanthus. (Phyllanthus 319 September, in sandy peat. Cut- tings. Climbing Dalechampia. (Dalechampia scandens.) Flowers in June and July, in loamy peat. Cuttings. Twining Plunkenetia. (Plunkenetia volubilis.) Flowers in July and Au- gust, in peaty loam. Cuttings. Lobed-leaved Modecca. (Modecca lo- bata.) Flowers in August, in rich mould. Cuttings. Long-leaved Smilax. (Smilax longi- folia.) Flowers in May and June, in peaty loam. Cuttings. Cordate-leaved Rajania. (Rajania cor- data.) Flowersin July, in peaty loam. Division of the root. Villous Cocculus. (Cocculus villosus.) Flowers from May to June, in loamy peat. Division of the root. Distilling Chinese Pitcher Plant. (iVe- penthes distillatoria.) Flowers from April to May, in peaty loam. Cut- tings. Heart-leaved Gouania. (Gouania cordi- folia.) Flowers from May to July, in peaty loam. Cuttings. St. Domingo Gouania. (Gouania do- scandens.) Flowers from July to mingensis.) Flowers from May to July, in peaty loam. Cuttings. YELLOW. Yellow Bindweed. (Convolvulus ochra- dens.) Flowers in July and August, ceus.) Flowers in July and August, in peaty loam. Cuttings. Suberect Echites. (Echites suberecta.) Flowers from June to August, in peaty loam. Cuttings. Red-stemmed Echites. (Echites rubri- caulis.) Flowers from July to Au- gust, in peaty loam. Cuttings. Red -veined Hemadictyon. (Hema- dictyon venosum.) Flowers in July and August, in peaty loam. Cut- tings. Great-flowered Solandra. (Solandra grandifiora.) Flowers from March to May, inrich mould. Cuttings. Esculent Oxystelma. (Oxystelma escu- lentum.) Flowers in May and June, in sandy loam. Division of the root. : Tinging Gymnema. (Gymnema tingens. coe in July, in peaty loam. Cut- ings. : Most tenacious Gymnema. (Gymne- ma tenacissimum.) Flowers in July “i August, in peaty loam. Cut- ings. Scandent Brasiletto. ( Cesalpinia scandens.) Flowersin July and Au- gust, in peaty loam. Seeds. — Shining Banisteria. (Banisteria splen- in sandy loam. Cuttings. Shining-fruited Banisteria. (Banisteria fulgens.) Flowers in July and Au- gust, in rich mould. Cuttings. Golden-leaved Heteropteris. ( Hete- ropteris chrysophylia.) Flowers in June and July, in rich mould. Cut- tings. Jamaica Triopteris. {( Triopteris ja- maicencis.) Flowers in May and June, in peaty loam. Cuttings. - Reclined Hirvea. (Hirvea reclinata.) Flowers in June and July, in sandy loam. Cuttings. Twining Tetracera. (Tetracera volu- bilis.) Flowers in June and July, in peaty loam. Cuttings. Large-flowered Virgin’s Bower. (Cle- matis grandifiora.) Flowers in May and June, in peaty loam. Layers. Ceylon Naravelia. ( Naravelia zey- lanica.) Flowers in July and Au- - gust, in sandy peat. Layers. Large-leaved Trumpet-fliower. (Bi gnonia grandifolia.) Flowers from April to June, in peaty loam. Cut- - tings. Winged Thunbergia. ( Thunbergia alata.) Flowers from May to Sep- tember, in peaty loam. Cuttings. 316 Hooked Spathodea. ( Spathodea un- cata.) Flowers in September and October, in sandy peat. Cuttings. Violet - berried Besleria. ( Besleria violacea.) Flowers in July and Au- gust, in loamy peat. Cuttings. Climbing Pterecarpus.. (Pterocarpus scandens.) Flowers in June and July, in sandy loam. Cuttings. St. Vincent’s Chetocalyx. (Chetocalyx Vincentina.) Flowers from May to August, in peaty loam. Cuttings. Caribean Rhynchosia. ( Rhynchosia caribea.) Flowers from September to October, in peaty loam. Cut- tings. Clammy Fagelia. (Fagelia bituminosa.) Flowers from April to September, in loamy peat. Cuttings. Yellow-flowered Dolichos. ( Dolichos éuteus.) Flowers in July and August, in sandy loam. Seeds. Soft Dioclea. (Dioclea mollis.) Flowers _ Shady Anguria. THE MOIST STOVE. in July and August, in sandy loam. Division of the plant. Pedate Anguria. (Anguria pedata. ) Flowers in June and July, in loamy peat. Division of the root. aie gob umbrosa.) Flowers in June and July, in loamy peat. Division of the root. Diccious Momordica. ( Momordica dioica.) Flowers in July and August, in common mould. Seeds. Tube-flowered Momordica. (Momor- dica tubifiora.) Flowers in July and August, in common mould. Seeds. Racemose Tiliacora. (Tiliacora race- mosa.) Flowers in June and July, in rich mould. Division of the root. Pitcher-leaved Pitcher-plant. (Nepen- thes phyllamphora.) Flowers in June and August, in peaty loam. Cuttings. Calinea Doliocarpus. ( Doliocarpus Calinea.) Flowers in June and July, in loamy peat. Cuttings. ORANGE. Scandent Jonesia. (Jonesia scandens.) Flowers in April and May, in peaty loam. Cuttings. Mealy Combretum. (Combretum fa- rinosum.) Flowers from April to July, in rich mould. Cuttings. Indian Quisqualis. (Quisqualis indica.) Flowers from May to August, in loamy peat. Cuttings. Pubescent Quisqualis. (Quisqualis pu- bescens.) Flowers from May to Au- gust, in loamy peat. Cuttings. Lovely Trumpet - flower. (Bignonia venusta.) Flowers in September and October, in loamy peat. Cuttings. Jasmine-leaved Trumpet-flower. (Bi- gnonia jasminifolia.) Flowers in June and July, in loamy peat. Cuttings. PURPLE. Showy Ipomea. (Ipomea speciosa.) Flowers in July and August, in peaty loam. Seeds. Long - flowered Ipomcea. (Jpomea _ longifiora.) Flowers in July and Au- gust, in peaty loam. Division of the root. Panicled Amphilobium. (Amphilobium paniculatum.) Flowers in June and July, in loamy peat. Cuttings. Comose Combretum. (Combretum co- mosum.) Flowers from June to De- cember, in rich mould. Cuttings. Bundle-flowered Trumpet-flower. (Bi- gnonia floribunda.) Flowers in April and June, in loamy peat. Cuttings. Twisting Petrea. (Petrea volubilis.) Flowers in July and August, in rich mould. Cuttings. Obtuse-leaved Canavalia. (Canavalia obtusifolia.) Flowers in July and August, in sandy loam. Cuttings. Prayer Wild Liquorice. (Abrus preca- torius.) Flowers from March to May, in sandy peat. Seeds. Long-leaved Sweetia. (Sweetia longi- folia.) Flowers in July and August, in sandy peat. Cuttings. Woody Sweetia. ( Sweetia lignosa. } Flowers in July and August, in sandy peat. Cuttings. Ovate Amphodus. (Amphodus ovatus.) Flowers in July and August, in sandy peat, Cuttings. Purple Lablab. (Lablab purpureus.) Flowers from August to September, in sandy loam. Seeds. Angled Pachyrhizus. ( Pachyrhizus angulatus.) Flowers in July and Au- gust, in sandy loam. Cuttings. Three-lobed Birthwort. (Aristolochia lobata.) Flowers in June and July, in peaty loam. Cuttings. Sweet-scented Birthwort. ( Aristolo- lochia odoratissima.) Flowers in July and August, in peaty loam. Cuttings. African Jollifia. (Jollifia africana.) Flowers in July and August, in peaty loam. Cuttings. Elegant Ceropegia. (Ceropegia ele- gans.) Flowers in August and Sep- tember, in loamy peat. Cuttings. SELECT LIST OF TROPICAL CLIMBING PLANTS. 317 SCARLET. Cut-leaved Ipomea. (Ipomea dissecta.) Flowers in June and July, in sandy peat. Cuttings. Purple Combretum. ( Combretum purpureum.) Flowers from June to December, in rich mould. Cut- tings. Climbing Columnea. (Columnea scan- dens.) Flowers from August to Oc- tober, in sandy peat. Cuttings. Scarlet Thunbergia. (Thunbergia coe- cinea.) Flowers from May to Sep- tember, in peaty loam. Cuttings. Climbing Holmskioldia. (Holmskioldia scandens.) Flowers from April to December, in peaty loam. Cuttings. RED. Involucrate Ipomea. (Jpomeainvolu- crata.) Flowers in July and August, in sandy loam. Seeds. Roxburgh’s Ipomea. (Ipomea Roz- burghit.) Flowers from June to Au- st, in peaty loam. Cuttings. Climbing Dalbergia. (Dalbergia scan- dens.) Flowers from April to June, in sandy loam. Cuttings. Twining Teramnus. (Teramnus volu- bilis.) Flowers in July and August, in rich mould. Cuttings. Pendulous Galactia. ( Galactia pen- dula.) Flowers in July and August, in loamy peat. Cuttings. Ceylon Uvaria. (Uvaria zeylanica.) Flowers in June and July, in peaty loam. Cuttings. PINK. Seaforth’s Nightshade. (Solanum Sea- forthianum.) Flowers from July to September, in loamy peat. Cuttings. Ciliated Bindweed. (Convolvulus cilia- tus.) Flowers from July to Septem- ber, in sandy loam. Seeds. vulus maximus.) Flowers in July and August, in rich mould. Division of the root. Large-flowered Cryptostegia. ( Cry- ptostegia grandiflora.) Flowers in June and July, in rich mould. Cut- Greatest Ceylon Bindweed. (Convol- tings. : BLUE. Twining Nightshade. (Solanum volu- May to September, in peaty loam. bilis.) Flowers in June and July, Cuttings. in peaty loam. Cuttings. Five-flowered Bindweed. (Convolvulus Blne-flowering Heteropteris. (Hefe- pentanthus.) Flowers from July to ropteris cerulea.) Flowers in July and August, in peaty loam. Cut- tings. wie Large-flowered Thunbergia. ( Thun- bergia grandifiora.) Flowers from September, in sandy loam. Cuttings. Verticillate Bindweed. (Convolvulus verticillatus.) Flowers from July to September, in rich mould. Seeds. BROWN. Mauritian Periploca. ritiana.) Flowers in July and August, in peaty loam. Cuttings. (Periploca mau- Narum Unona. (Unona Narwm.) Flowers in May and June, in peaty loam. Cuttings. 318 : 4 THE DRY STOVE. AutTHors in general have considered the Dry Stove as a receptacle for such plants as require an intermediate temperature between the green- house and moist stove. Our view of the subject is quite different; we presume the Dry Stove to be a house in which such plants are to be grown as require an equally high temperature, but which are impatient of that degree of humidity necessary in the moist stove. For example, we may state some of the more tender Euphorbias, Blakea, Echites, Roxburghia,. Malphighia, Theophrasta, Myrtus, Dillenia, Caryophyllus, Atrocarpus, Jacquinia, Plumieria, Jatropha, and Theobroma. The Dry Stove has. also been considered by many as a house in which the culture of succulent plants only may be carried on. Modern discovery has sufficiently proved that the majority of succulent plants prosper better in a temperature much below that of stoves in general, and we think that we have pretty clearly demonstrated, in a former part of these pages, the utility of growing that singular and interesting tribe of plants by themselves, in a much lower temperature than has hitherto been recommended. As an Tas eee ae ie ae cea instance of former practice in this respect we may quote that in use in x Kew garden, where the 4gave americana and similar plants are subjected # to the unnecessary heat of what is called the Dry Stove, along with some = others which might peradventure in favourable situations exist almost in 3 the open air. Fa In all extensive collections of plants two separate stoves are absolutely te necessary, exclusive of the Orchidez House ; the one to contain the more _ = delicate species, and such as require the highest temperature, the other ny to contain such as are less delicate, and those also that require abundance —_— of moisture. Such, therefore, we denominate the Dry and Humid Stoves. There is no doubt but palms, aquatics, and tropical fruits could be cul- tivated in one or other of these, but they would be cultivated much better in houses expressly set apart for them, and present a much more — ae imposing effect. | ok. -_— CONSTRUCTION. 319 Another important advantage arises from an arrangement of this sort, namely, that of inducing cultivators to aim at perfection in the cultiva- tion of certain tribes, which they would arrive at by directing their atten- tion to selections, and not attempting the formation of collections, as is too often the case. There are few lovers of plants but have a partiality for some tribes or genera more than for others, and upon these they lavish all their care and attention, while others less in their estimation are very much neglected. How much better, therefore, would it be to direct their attention to some one or two sections most agreeable to them, and to cultivate them well, rather than attempt the cultivation of a general collection, which never can be satisfactorily accomplished in one or two houses. CONSTRUCTION OF THE DRY STOVE. In construction, the Dry Stove need not be different from the Humid Stove, which see. It is in the method of culture that the difference exists, and that, as we have already observed, consists principally in a more scanty supply of water, the plants not requiring so much, being for the most part of slow growth. There is also another point in which they differ: while the plants in the moist stove stand on a floor of gravel, coal-ashes, or similar dry materials, the majority of Dry Stove plants require to be plunged in a bed of tan, leaves, or other fermentable mat- ter, or in a bed of scoriz, heated from beneath by means of steam or hot- water pipes. Plants of the former description grow very rapidly, and if placed in a bed of tan, &c., would soon grow beyond all reasonable bounds, from the increased excitement at their roots ; besides, the quan- tity of water necessary to be syringed over them daily would soon rot the materials into which they are plunged. Plants of the latter description, being delicate growers, require the stimulating power of a mild bottom heat, and the quantity of water necessary for them has little effect on the bed into which they are plunged. All Dry Stove plants however, do not require to be plunged in a bottom heat, at least during the periods when they are in a dormant state ; shelves should be arranged against the back wall for their reception during these periods, and the trellised platform over the front flues should be set apart for small plants, and such as are in a state or of a description not to require such stimulus. In establishments where a separate succulent house is not deemed necessary, the Dry Stove is then the proper habitation for such plants as 320 THE DRY STOVE. Euphorbia, Stapelia, and Cactea, but certainly not for Crassula and Aloe. These, however, should upon no consideration be plunged into a bottom heat, but should occupy shelves or other situations where they may be kept dry at the root, and be fully exposed to the sun and air. The mode of heating the Dry Stove does not differ from that of other plant-houses, only as a higher temperature is required, provision must be made by increasing the number of flues, steam or hot-water pipes, as has been noticed in the Moist or Humid Stove. For the purpose of producing a mild bottom heat for the plants to be placed on, a much better, neater, and less expensive method, instead of filling the pit with fermentable mate- rial, such as tan, leaves, or dung, would be to leave it an open vault, covered over at top with twelve-inch tiles, laid on iron bearers: on these tiles some fine river-sand might be placed in which to plunge the pots, or to set them on. The necessary heat would be obtained by carrying hot water or steam pipes through it so as to heat the chamber, which would give it out through the tiles on the top to the plants in an uniform and sufficient quantity ; or the chamber or vault might be intersected with brick flues, through which the pipes should run, or even be filled entirely with brick-bats, or soft porous stones, as already recommended in the early part of this work: these would absorb the heat, and give it out gradually, even long after the steam or hot water had ceased to circulate amongst them. Small tubes might be introduced through the tiles or bed of sand, to admit copious supplies of steam into the body of the house when required. The directions for propagation, already so fully entered into in the Moist Stove, are in most cases applicable to this also. 321 SELECT LIST OF DRY STOVE PLANTS. WHITE. Three-nerved Blakea. (Blakea triner- via.) Flowers in June and July, in sandy peat. Layers. Five-nerved Blakea. (Blakea quin- guenervia.) Flowers in June and July, in sandy peat. Cuttings. Crenulate Limonia. (Limonia crenu- lata.) Flowers in June and July, in rich mould. Cuttings. Orange-leaved Limonia. ( Limonia citrifolia.) Flowers in June and July, rich mould. Cuttings. Showy Oxyanthus. (Oxyanthus specio- sus.) Flowers in July, in peaty loam. Cuttings. Long-flowered Randia. (Randia longi- Jiora.) Flowersfrom August to Sep- _ tember, in loamy peat. Cuitings. Chinese Randia. (Randia sinensis.) Flowers from June to August, in loamy peat. Cuttings. Round-leaved Randia. (Randia rotun- difolia.) Flowers from June to Au- gust, inloamy peat. Cuttings. Many -flowered Exostemma. ( Evo- stemma floribundum:) Flowers in June and July, in loamy peat. Cut- tings. Long -flowered Exostemma. (Ezo- stemma longifiorum.) Flowers in June and July, in peaty loam. Cuttings. Jussizus’s Theophrasta. (Theophras- ta Jussigzi. Flowers in June and July, in rich mould. Seeds. Long - leaved Theophrasta. phrasta longifolia.) Flowers in May and June,in rich mould. Cuttings. Bracelet Jacquinia. (Jacquinia armil- laris.) Flowers in June and July, in peaty loam. Cuttings. Lambert’s Plumieria. (Plumieria Lam- bertiana.) Flowers in July and Au- gust, in rich mould. Cuttings. Jamaica Andromeda. ( Andromeda ( Theo- jamaicensis.) Flowers from May to September, in sandy peat. Layers. Bundled Andromeda. ( Andromeda fasciculata.) Flowers in April and May, in sandy peat. Cuttings. Exotic Murraya. (Murraya exotica.) Flowers from August to September, in rich mould. Cuttings. Panicled Murraya. (Murraya pani- culata.) Flowers in June and July, in rich mould. Cuttings. True Cinnamon. (Cinnamomum verum.) Flowers from June to September, in sandy peat. Cuttings. Sweet Cinnamon. (Cinnamomum dulce.) Flowers from March to June, in loamy peat. Cuttings. Fragrant Gardenia. (Gardenia fra- grens.) Flowers in June and July, in loamy peat. Cuttings. Shining Gardenia. (Gardenia lucida.) Flowers from June to August, in loamy peat. Cuttings. Pubescent Gardenia. (Gardinia pube- scens. Flowers in June and July, in loamy peat. Cuttings. White Plumieria. (Plumieria alba.) Flowers in July and August, in rich mould. Cuttings. White-flowered Piumieria. (Plumieria leucantha.) Flowersin July and Au- gust, in rich mould. Cuttings. Long-leaved Plumieria. (Plumieria longifolia. Flowers in July and Au- gust, in rich mould. Cuttings. Milky Cerbera. ( Cerbera lactaria. ) Flowers from June to September, in rich mould. Cuttings. Small-leaved Plumieria. (Plumieria parvifolia.) Flowers in July and August, in rich mouid. Cuttings. Esculent Premna. (Premna esculenta.) Flowers in April and May, in sandy loam. Cuttings, Y 322 Plumier’s Talauma. (Talauma Plumi- erii.) Flowers in April and May, in peat and loam. Layers. Grateful - scented Tabernemontana. (Tabernemontana gratissima.) Flow- ers from May to September, in peat and loam. Cuttings. Dense - flowered Tabernemontana. (Tabernemontana densiflora.) Flow- ers in June, in peat and loam. Cut- tings. Long-leaved Anthocleista. ( Antho- cleista macrophylla.) Flowers in June and July, in peat and loam. Cuttings. White Screw Pine. (Pandanus albus.) Rich mould. Seeds. Eatable Screw Pine. (Pandanus edu- lis.) Rich mould. Seeds. Dwarf Screw Pine. (Pandanus humilis.) Rich mould. Seeds. Catappan Terminalia. ( Terminalia catappa.) Flowers in June and July, in peaty loam. Cuttings. Molucca Terminalia. (Terminalia mo- luccana.) Flowers from June to August, in peaty loam. Cuttings. True Bread Fruit. (Artocarpus incisa.) Flowers in June and July, in rich mould. Cuttings. Jaca Tree. (Artocarpus integrifolia.) Flowers in June and July, in rich mould. Cuttings. White Carolinea. (Carolinea alba.) Flowers in July and August, in peaty loam. Cuttings. Common Allspice. (Pimenta vulgaris.) Flowers from May to July, in sandy peat. Cuttings. White Canella. (Canella alba.) Flowers in June and July, in rich loam. Cut- tings. Laurel-leaved Canella. (Canellalauri- Folia.) Flowers from July to Sep- tember, in sandy loam. Cuttings. Most-fragrant Galipea. (Galipea odo- ‘ THE DRY STOVE. ratissima.) Flowers in May, in loam and peat. Cuttings. Great-flowered Tabernemontana. (Ta- bernemontana grandiflora.) Flowers in May and June, in rich mould. Cuttings. Curled Tabernemontana. (Taberne- montana crispa.) Flowers from May to October, in rich mould. Cuttings. Sounding Sand Box-Tree. (Hura stre- pens.) Flowers in June and July, in loamy peat. Cuttings. Rattling Sand Box Tree. (Hura cre- pitans.) Flowers in June and July, im peaty loam. Seeds. Shining Croton. (Croton nitens.) Flow- ers in July and August, in peaty loam. Cuttings. Aromatic Croton. (Croton aromatica.) Flowers in July and August, in peaty loam. Cuttings. Snow-white Croton. (Croton nivea.) Flowers in July and August, in peaty loam. Cuttings. Sour Gourd. (Adansonia digitata.) Flowers in July and August, in peaty loam. Cuttings. Canescent Pterospermum. ( Ptero- spermum canescens.) Flowers in July and August, in peaty loam. Cut- tings. Cork-tree leaved Pterospermum. (Pfe- rospermum suberifolium. ) Flowers from September to October, in peaty loam. Cuttings. Umbelled Echites. (Echites umbellata.) Flowers in June and July, in peaty loam. Cuttings. Acrid Wild Clove. ( Myrtus acris.) Flowers from May to July, in sandy peat. Cutting. Allspice-like Myrtle. (Myrtus pimen- toides.) Flowers from March to May, in sandy peat. Cutting. Bushy Myrtle. (Myrtus dumosa.) Flow- ers in June and July, in sandy peat. Cuttings. PURPLE. Glaucous Camphor Tree. (Cinnamo- mum glaucum.) Flowers in March and June, in loamy peat. Cuttings. Twiggy Cuphea. (Cuphea virgata. ) Flowers from August to September, in sandy loam. Seeds. Slender Cuphea. (Cuphea gracilis.) Flowers in July and August, in sandy loam. Cuttings. Racemose Cuphea. (Cuphearacemosa.) Flowers in June and July, in sandy loam. Cuttings. Lindley’s Hibiscus. (Hibiscus Lindlei.) Flowers in December, in peat and loam. Cuttings. Glaucous-leaved Lisianthus. (Lisian- thus glaucifolius.) Flowers in June and July, in loamy peat. Cuttings. Hairy Columnea. (Columnea hirsuta.) Flowers from August to November, in sandy peat. Cuttings. Red - leaved Columnea. ( Columnea rutilans.) Flowers from August to September, in sandy peat. Cuttings. Wedge-leaved Silverweed. (Argyreta cuneata.) Flowers in August and September, in sandyloam, Cuttings. SELECT LIST OF DRY STOVE PLANTS. 323 PINK. Pendulous Laurel. (Laurus pendula.) Flowers in April and May, in loamy peat. Cuttings. Tanguin Cerbera. (Cerbera Tanquin.) Flowers in March and May, in rich mould. Cuttings. Large-flowered Echitis. (Echitis gran- diflora. Flowers in June and July, in peaty loam. Cuttings. Apple-fruited Silverweed. (Argyreia pomacea.) Flowers in Juneand July, in rich mould. Cuttings. Glossy Barbadoes Cherry. (Valpighia nitida.) Flowers from March to Au- gust, in peaty loam. Cuttings. Berry - bearing Barbadoes Cherry. (Malpighia coccifera.) Flowers from August to September, in peaty loam. Cuttings. Pleasing Gardenia. (Gardenia amena.) Flowers from June to August, in rich mould. Cuttings. Gloriosa-like Roxburghia. (Roxbur- ghia gloriosoides.) Flowers in April and May,in peaty loam. Suckers. Showy Urena. (Urena speciosa.) Flow- = oh November, in sandy loam. eeds. SCARLET. Buffalo Burchellia. (Burchellia buba- lina.) Flowers in May and June, in loamy peat. Cuttings. Leathery Ardisia. (Ardisia coriacea.) _ Flowers in July and August, in sandy loam. Cuttings. Scarlet Physic Nut. (Jatropha cocci- nea.) Flowers from May to August, in peaty loam. Cuttings. pandurefolia.) Flowers in May and August, in rich mould. Seeds. Climbing Columnea. (Columnea scan- dens.) Flowers from August to Sep- tember, in sandy peat. Cuttings. Shining Euphorbia. (EHuphorbia splen- dens.) Flowers from June to Sep- tember, in sandy loam. Cuttings. Melville’s Cuphea. (Cuphea Meivilla.) Fiddle-leaved Physic Nut. (Jatropha Flowers from August to September, in peaty loam. Cuttings. ORANGE. R Orange-flowered Jacquinia. (Jacqui- macrocerpa.) Flowers from May to nia aurantiaca.) Flowers from April to September, in peaty loam. Cut- tings. Long-fruited Jacquinia. ( Jacquinia September, in peaty loam. Cuttings. Waved Tabernemontana. (Taberne- montana undulata.) Flowers from May to September, in rich mould. Cuttings. BROWN. Two-coloured Chocolate Nut. (Theo- broma bicolor.) Flowers in June and July, in rich mould. Cuttings. Common Cacao. (Theobroma cacao.) Flowers from September to October, in rich mould. Cuttings. Guiana Chocolate-nut. (Theobroma guianensis.) Flowers in June and July, in rich mould. Cuttings. Medicinal Sterculia. (Sterculia fraga- cantha.) Flowers in May, in loam and peat. Cuttings. BLUE. Three-leaved Columna. (Columna tri- foliata.) Flowers from August to November, in sandy peat. Cuttings. Carolina Jacaranda. (Jacaranda Caro- liniana.) Flowers in July and Au- gust, in peat andloam, Cuttings. Oval-leaved Jacaranda. (Jacaranda ovalifolia.) Flowers in April and May, in peat and loam. Cuttings. Painted Ruelia. (Ruelia picta.) Flow- ers from April to August, in peat and loam. Cuttings. y 2 ee pape te ee — OO ON I AN 324 THE DRY STOVE. RIPED. Decandolle’s Taluma. (Talmuna Candollii.) Flowers in April and May, in peat andloam. Layers. ROSE. Splendid Hibiscus. (Hibiscus splendens.) Cuttings. Flowers in May, in rich mould. YELLOW. Tall Flower Fence. (Poinciana elata.) | Flowers in June and July, in rich mould. Seeds. Shining Laurel. (Laurus splendens.) Flowers from March to June, in loamy peat. Cuttings. Bundle-fiowered Laurel. (Laurus flori- bunda.) Flowers from June to Au- gust, in loamy peat. Cuttings. Broad- ‘leaved Lisianthus. (Lisianthus latifolius.) Flowers from July to September, in loamy peat. Seeds. Heart-leaved Lisianthus. (Lisianthus cordifolius.) Flowers in July and August, in loamy peat. Cuttings. Forked Strophanthus. (Strophanthus dichotomus.) Flowers from February to March, in rich mould. Cuttings. Thevetia Cerbera. (Cerbera Thev etia. ) Flowers in June and July, in rich mould. Cuttings. Tall Terminalia. (Terminalia procera.) Flowers in June and July, in peaty loam. Cuttings. Showy Dillenia. (Dillenia speciosa.) Flowers from June to August, in peaty loam. Cuttings. Aromatic Clove Tree. (Caryophyllus aromaticus.) Flowers in May and June, in loamy peat. Cuttings. Herbert’s Cassia.( Cassia Herbertiana.) Flowers in November, in loam and peat. Seeds. Short-leaved Cassia. (Cassia brevi- folia.) Flowers in June and July, in sandy loam. Seeds. Long-haired Hibiscus. (Hibiscus cri- nitus.) Flowers in September and October, in peat and loam. Seeds. Doubtful Barbadoes Cherry. (MMaipi- ghia dubia.) Flowers in July and August, in peaty loam. Cuttings. Slender Cinnamon. ( Cinnamomum gracile.) Flowers from March to June, in sandy peat. Cuttings. Broad-leaved Gardenia. ( Gardenia latifolia.) Flowers from June to July, in loamy peat. Cuttings. Yellow Plumieria. (Plumieria lutea.) Flowers in July and August, in rich mould. Cuttings. Chaste-flowered Plumieria. (Plumieria pudica. Flowers in June and July, in rich mould. Cuttings. Sweet-scented Tabernemontana. (Ta- bernemontana fragrans.) Flowers from October to November, in rich mould. Cuttings. Slender Brucea. (Brucea gracilis.) Flowers in April and May, in peaty loam. Cuttings. Corymbose Payonia. (Pavonia corym- bosa.) Flowers in July and August, in sandy loam. Seeds. Broad-leaved Lily Thorn. (Catesbea latifolia.) Flowers in June and July, in peaty loam. Cuttings. Spinous Lily Thorn. (Catesbea spi- nosa.) Flowers from May to Sep- tember, in sandy peat. Cuttings. Suberect Echites. (Echites suberecta.) Flowers from June to August, in peaty loam. Cuttings. Twisted Echites. ( Echites torosa.) Flowers from June to August, in peaty loam. Cuttings. Fringed Carulluma. (Carulluma jim- briata.) Flowers in July and Au- MacLeay’s Hibiscus. (Hibiscus Mac- gust, in sandy loam. Cuttings. leayanus.) Flowers in August and Crenulated Canelluma. ( Canelluma September, in loam and peat. Cut- crenulata.) Flowers in July and Au- tings. gust, in sandy loam. Cuttings. GREEN. Cogwood-tree Laurel. roxylon.) Flowers in Juneand July, in Joamy peat. Cuttings. (Laurus Chio- | | Shining Cinnamon. ( Cinnamemum nitidum.) Flowers from September to October, in peaty loam. Cuttings. SELECT LIST OF DRY STOVE PLANTS. Camphor Tree. (Cinnamomum cam- phora.) Flowers from June to Au- gust, in loamy peat. Cuttings. Rusty Brucea. (Brucea ferruginea.) Flowers in April and May, in peaty loam. Cuttings. Sumatra Brucea. (Brucea sumatrana.) Painted Barbadoes Cherry. (Malpi- ghia fucata.) Flowers from March to August, in peaty loam. Cuttings. Smooth - leaved Barbadoes Cherry. (Malpighia glabra.) Flowers from March to July, in peaty loam. Cut- tings. Linear-leaved Jacquinia. (Jacquinia linearis.) Flowers from May to Sep- tember, in peaty loam. Cuttings. Red Plumieria. (Plumieria rubra.) Flowers in July and August, in rich mould. Cuttings. _Sarmentose Strophanthus. ( Stro- Phanthus sarmentosus.) Flowers from May to July, in peaty loam. Cuttings. Princely Carolinea. (Carolinea prin- ceps. ) Flowers in J uly and August, in peaty loam. Cuttings. Less Carolinea. (Car olinea minor.) Flowers in June and July, in peaty lcam. Cuttings. Showy Carclinea. (Carelinea insignis.) | | | 3290 Flowers in April and May, in peaty loam. Cuttings. Multifid Physic Nut. (Jatropha multi- fida.) Flowers in June and July, in rich mould. Cuttings. Curcas Physic Nut. (Jatropha Curcas.) Flowers from May to August, in peaty loam. Cuttings. Flowers in July and August, in peaty loam. Cuttings. Fair Flower Fence. ( Poinciana pul- cherrima.) Flowers from June to September, in rich mould. Cuttings. Downy Grislea. (Grislea tomentosa.) Flowers from May to June, in sandy peat. Cuttings. Coloured Ardisia. {Ardisia colorata. ) Flowers from July to August, in sandy loam. Cuttings. Elegant Ardisia. (Ardisia splendens. ) Flowers in June and July, in sandy loam. Cuttings. Shrubby Cerbera. (Cerbera fruticosa.) Flowers in May and June, in rich mould. Cuttings. Fragrant Pavonia. (Pavonia odorata.) Flowers in July and August, in sandy loam. Cuttings. Thyme-leaved Cuphea. (Cuphea ser- pyllifolia.) Flowers from September to October, in peaty loam. Cuttings. Large-headed Brownea. ( Brownea grandiceps.) Sandy loam. Cuttings. —— 7 — 2 sia i Sc = 2 ~ _ 7 - eee cacememaca ~ areca - on eee —Am er ome a - ae eS ——Ey : —— Ears Dee SES ae % aE Sawa ae aan ne — a TS ee Dre re == SS 2 ee aS — - a isenaceaigchigs leucine: pohiapsamiaeie ES r Bad 1} indy + aphing male ie mel tt Re ) Wan eae + a id } { 3 ? | i 1 } 326 THE ORCHIDEA HOUSE. OrcuHipDEOovs plants, whether regarded for the beauty of their colours, the singularity of their organization, the grotesque forms which they assume, or the delicious fragrance of their blossoms, must be admitted to be among the most extraordinary vegetable productions of the globe. It is somewhat singular, that notwithstanding the abundance in which they are found, particularly in the tropics, they should have escaped the obser- vation of collectors so long, and equally so, that of those which were brought into Europe, so few of them were preserved for any length of time. In the early editions of the Hortus Kewensis (our copy is dated 1789), only fifteen species are recognized, and up to the beginning of the present century only fifty-one species of exotic Orchidez are enumerated in our best plant catalogues. Nor was it till within the last ten or fifteen years that the great influx of Orchidez has taken place, and that chiefly owing to a few spirited individuals, who, struck with their extraordinary habits and beauty, made them their study, and encouraged their introduction. Amongst the most conspicuous of these is his Grace the Duke of Devon- shire, who has been most liberal in his encouragement, not only by sending out collectors to discover new sorts, but also by patronising the cultivation of them at home upon a very extensive scale. With his Grace’s name we may associate those of the late Mrs. A. Harrison, of Liverpool, the late Mr. Cattley, James Bateman, Esq., and the Messrs. Loddiges, Rollinsons, Low, and Knight. The collection of Messrs. Lod- diges is the most ancient as well as the most extensive, and is reputed to amount to about one thousand species and varieties, altogether the most splendid collection in the world. For the best principles of the cultivation of this tribe, and to a great extent for the taste also which has grown up within these few years, we are much indebted to Mr. Cooper, of Wentworth House, whe GEOGRAPHICAL DISTRIBUTION—FRUCTIFICATION. 327 has for many years cultivated these plants to a degree of perfection seldom equalled and certainly never yet surpassed. Every year is adding to the number of new species imported, and aiso to the number of admirers of this grotesque group of plants, so that it has now become as fashionable to possess a collection of Orchidez as it was about the beginning of this century to possess one of heaths. The geographical distribution of Orchideous plants is not so very equally divided as that of some other natural orders. For in Europe and other temperate regions of the globe they are less abundantly found, and towards the arciic regions disappear, while in and towards the tropics they abound in surprising numbers. In the temperate regions they are, for the most part, terrestrial, growing in meadows and pastures, while within the tropics they are chiefly parasitical, or rather epiphytal, growing upon the trunks and branches of living trees and shrubs, and also upon the trunks of those that have fallen. Some can hardly be said to have any fixed place of abode, and are found forming large tufts firmly knit together by their numerous and tortuous roots, and suffering little from being thrown about as the passing kick of the traveller may send them. A great number of tropical Orchideous plants are found adhering to the branches of trees in the most dense forests in an epiphytal manner, not fixed parasitically by their roots to the bark of the trees that support them. Im such situations they are consequently shaded from direct light by the leaves and branches which surround them: they are also placed in a moist atmosphere and high temperature, ventilation and evaporation being almost precluded. To the fructification of Orchideous plants it may be necessary to make some allusion, inasmuch as it is still but imperfectly known; and although Mr. R. Brown and a few others seem to have the production of plants of this order from seeds at their command, still the generality of cultivators have failed in producing similar results, and not a few, other- wise intelligent and accurate in their botanical researches, deem the theory altogether visionary. “ The singular plants which constitute this class are distinguished from all others by the anomalous structure of their flowers. These do not, as is usually the case, contain a certain number of stamens, surrounding a central ovarium or style, but, on the contrary, are furnished with a soli- tary fleshy undivided process, round which the sepals radiate, and which ~ supplies the place of stamens and style. The nature of this process has been variously explained: the modern opinion is, that it is formed by the accretion of the stamens and style into a single mass, and this opinion ee EE oOo, 5 Ot To er ee Se Scbninjeleneinaeltee v= Te Se phe eee emeeew re nae es pa at Ll OU gS Se PRs FS eee z a eo OD OOS PS RE cae as a oe = See TTS, =e a nes 3 a i : 328 THE ORCHIDEZ HOUSE. seems to be confirmed by analysis and analogy. Omitting, therefore, a notice of such theories respecting its nature as are opposed to that which is now received as the most correct, it will suffice to explain a little in detail the opinion which is adopted in this work. The central process, called the columna or column, is understood to be formed by the fila- ments of three stamens surrounding a style, and by mutual accretion firmly united with it, and with each other, into a solid mass. Of these three stamens it most frequently happens that the two lateral are sterile, and not furnished with even the vestige of an anthera, and that their presence is not indicated by more than two irregular excrescences, as in Orchis, or by the same number of small appendages, as in Satyrium, or by two horn-like or tooth-like processes, present in several of the genera, with waxy pollen masses; it even happens, and not unfre- quently, that no vestige of them remains. But in Cypripedium both are fertile, and bear perfect anthers, while the central stamen is barren and foliaceous. When the lateral stamens are, as above stated, abortive, which is the most common form of the column, the central stamen bears at its upper extremity an anther, which is either moveable or fixed firmly in its place. The pollen which this contains assumes three very distinct appearances in different tribes. It is either. granular, dividing into many separable small pieces, as in Orchis ; or powdery, consisting of an infinite number of granules, as in Spiranthes ; or waxy, when it consists of a few large con- crete masses, as in Epidendrum. The stigma is most frequently concave, and placed nearly under the anther, but in such a manner that there is no contact between it and the pollen. In what way, therefore, fecunda- tion can take place among truly gynandrous plants, is one of those mysterious contrivances of nature which have not as yet been explained. It is generally believed to take place by absorption in some undiscovered manner before the flowers expand; but it is extremely difficult to un- derstand how this can occur in many genera.’’— Encyclopedia of Plants. ON THE CONSTRUCTION OF THE ORCHIDEZ HOUSE. Orchideous plants require a species of cultivation peculiarly adapted to 3 themselves, and whoever means to attempt their culture must set aparta _ structure for the express purpose. The dimensions of an Orchideous House must, of course, depend on the circumstances of the owner, the kind and extent of the intended collection, and some other particulars, CONSTRUCTION. : 329 that can only be settled on the spot. The form and arrangement, how- ever, may be more positively determined. “The original house appropriated to the growth of Orchidez, at Chats- worth [as described by Mr. Paxton, in “ Magazine of Botany,” Vol. ii., p- 150, and of which the annexed sketch will afford some idea], is seventy- | pee Yi é aie, + aA as me en ee h """" WTI. ~, five feet long and twelve feet six inches wide. The walk is com- posed of pieces of wood nailed to sleepers, and is three feet six inches wide. The flues are inclosed in hot-air chambers, and the heat is admitted into the house by means of sliding ventilators on each side of the walk. _ “Qn the top of the hot-air chambers the plants are placed, as seen in the accompanying section: the stones covering the chamber being always warm, give a gentle heat to the roots of the plants placed on them. The top of the air-chamber is two feet six inches above the level of the floor. The house contains three leaden water cisterns; the two end ones are three feet square, the centre one three feet wide by eight feet long, and is occupied with aquatic plants. “There are four fire places on the common principle: the two end ones pass into the front chamber, cross under the walk in the centre of the house, pass along the back chamber, and empty themselves at each end. The two fires in the back-wall pass once along the front of the back chamber, and, crossing through the wall at each end of the house, pass along the outside of the wall, and heating the back sheds, 4, empty themselves in the centre of the back wall of the house. The height of the back wall of the house is eleven feet six inches, and that of the front two feet six inches; on the top of the front wall is an 330 THE ORCHIDEZ HOUSE. elevation of glass two feet six inches high, making the front five feet in height. “In front of the house is a small pit, ¢, used for half-hardy plants. The water is conveyed into the cisterns by leaden pipes from a reservoir, and is let on or taken off at pleasure, by turning off taps fixed at each end. For the purpose of readily giving humidity to the house, perforated pipes are passed along it, which when turned on, throw water on the floor, or over the back chamber.” This house has many advantages; but we would suggest that the greenhouse species of Orchidexw, as well as the hardy exotic, and even native species, should be kept in the pit in front, and which could be readily heated at one end by forming ventilators in the front wall of the house, through which a sufficiency of heat would find its way to answer every purpose of preserving what may be denominated greenhouse species. The North American and other hardy sorts would require no other artificial heat than that of the protection afforded by the glass covering during winter, and sufficient shading during summer. By this arrange- ment the whole natural order would be brought together, and be more conveniently attended to than if scattered about in different parts of the garden. Amongst other vast improvements and alterations going on at Chats- worth, a new Orchideous House has been erected, upon the metallic curvi- linear principle—a circumstance we are rather surprised at, as the humidity usually kept up in houses of this kind will have a great tendency to create rust, and a consequent injury to the plants, from the condensed vapour falling back on them. We have no doubt, however, that Mr. Paxton has taken all necessary precautions to render this house as fit for the purpose as possible. The span-roofed form of house, however, appears to us to present many very important advantages, and it would appear that some of the best cultivators of the day are of a similar opinion. The magnificent house of the Messrs. Loddiges, at Hackney, and that of the Messrs. Rollin- son, at Tooting, are upon this principle; and that of Mr. Knight, in the _ King’s Road, Chelsea, differs from them only in having a wall run up the centre, constituting as it were two houses set back to back, having a communication between them. | . The house of Messrs. Loddiges is in length one hundred and forty feet, breadth eighteen feet, and ten feet high in the centre. An immense pit, filled up to nearly the height of three feet above the ground level, occupies the centre of the house, and extends towards each end, leaving sufficient > —" Se ee adh Opa Seas a MESSRS. ROLLINSON’S HOUSE. 331 breadth for a passage round it. Upon this pit or bed the larger and taller plants are set. On each side of the house is a platform, nearly four feet wide, occupied with smaller specimens, and under these platforms the hot-water pipes are placed. From the rafters are suspended hundreds of plants, some attached to pieces of wood, others in wire or wicker baskets, some in pots mossed over, and others having only-a little moss tied round them. The majority are planted in pots, some of which are of very large size, and are intended for specimens, but those for sale vary in size from the size known as small forty-eights to that of sixteens. The house, notwith- standing its great size, is completely filled; with Orchidez, some of which are in flower at every period of the year. The house of the Messrs. Rollinson, at Tooting, is rather less than the last, but it is the intention of the spirited and highly respectable pro- prietors to extend it considerably; and as difficulties of a local nature occur to prevent its extension longitudinally, it is to be by adding to it transversely, which, in our opinion, will be an advantage rather than otherwise. - The length of this house is seventy feet, the breadth fifteen, and the height at the centre ten feet two inches. The side walls are five feet high, from whence the roof springs. This house, also, is of the span-roofed form, and is fitted up in a very neat and commodious manner. A bed or platform occupies the centre, five feet six inches wide, and on each side are tables over | aoe the hot-water pipes, two feet eS = oN 4 four inches broad, upon which ae N eZ the plants are set. In the & ae. Nf AS middle of the house is a cis- > WEE tern of water, from which, by a as the aid of Dr. Scott’s patent na on |e garden pump, as shown in the Ag SS o opposite sketch, the whole eE—== & _ house, or any part of it, can be watered in a few minutes. _ J a 2 ———— oa ——— At the end farthest from that 2 | =— a )— at which the entrance is situ- {> == I Ht ated, and over where the a re = bi é boiler for the hot-water ap- paratus is placed, is a raised platform, upon which some splendid 332 THE ORCHIDEX HOUSE. specimens are placed. The house is heated by Kewley’s hot-water ap- paratus, with one fire and four pipes, two on each side of the house, which answers the most sanguine expectations of the proprietors. Being anxious to satisfy ourselves upon the capabilities of the hot-water system during this severe winter (1838), we have applied to many of our friends for statements, and are happy to find that in no case has a deficiency of heat been experienced when the apparatus has been erected upon correct principles. The following extract from Mr. W. Rollinson’s letter, now before us, says, ‘“‘ during the severe frost on Friday, January the 19th, we were able to command a heat of seventy-five degrees of Fahrenheit.” The external temperature at the same time was ten degrees below zero at Claremont, and there could not have been much difference in the tem- perature at Tooting, being within ten miles. Upon the whole this house is by far the neatest and best fitted up of ny we have had an opportunity of seeing; but this is less a matter of wonder when we consider that the Tooting nursery, taking it as a whole, both in regard to cultivation and keeping, is second to none in the neigh- bourhood of London. If the collection of Messrs. Rollinson do not amount to so great a number of species as that of Messrs. Loddiges, there can be no doubt in saying that they are by far the best cultivated. Next to these in respect to collection and keeping, is that of Mr. Knight, who, by the bye, was the first nurseryman who followed Messrs. Loddiges in cultivating this tribe of plants, and in the formation of his collection must have expended a considerable capital. He purchased the collection of the late Mr. Cattley, long considered the best private cul- tivator; and afterwards that of the late Mrs. A. Harrison, of Liverpool. The possession of two such collections in addition to his own, very rapidly raised Mr. Knight to a position of eminence in this particular branch of culture. We have already observed that Mr. Knight’s house is upon nearly the same principle as those above described, only beimg divided as it were into two, by means of a wall up the centre, but through which there is a communication. While speaking of this wall, we may here observe, that almost the only part of Mr. Knight’s culture we disapprove of is, that of attempting to cover this wall with epiphytes. This is no doubt a very natural expectation when we consider the habitats of many of them. It appears, however, from the state of such plants as have been sub- jected to this mode of culture in this collection, and also in that of the Kew gardens, where this mode has been long in use, that however well MODE OF HEATING—CULTIVATION. 333 epiphytes may grow attached to the bark of trees, to rocks, or even to old walls, in their native country, they will not equally flourish when stuck up against a wall comparatively new, and abounding with cal- careous matter, which appears to be most inimical to their constitutions. Few of this natural order attain any extraordinary perpendicular height: those of them that are disposed to elongate to any extent, do so “naturally, or may be made to do so by training horizontally ; so that a low-roofed house is the most proper for them, on account of the economy in heating, and that those plants of humbler growth may derive sufficient benefit from the sun by being placed near to the glass. A structure, of any required length, and upon the principle represented in the annexed diagram, would be, in our opinion, a very fit place for the cultivation and display of Orchideous plants. The mode of heating may either be by hot water or smoke flues, and the pipes or flues should be under the side platforms at a, a, which should be covered with perforated boarding or trellised work, to admit of the ascent of the heated air, not only to keep up a genial warmth around the pots, but also to heat the atmosphere of the house with the least expendi- ture of fuel. On these side platforms the smaller specimens should be placed, by which means they would be brought close under the glass ; the larger growing sorts placed on the table or platform, in the centre of the house, and which may either be completely level, or elevated in the centre, as shown in our sketch. We consider a cistern of water to be next to indispensable in the Or- chidez House, and would propose to place it under the centre platform, SO as not to occupy space on which plants could be set. 334 THE ORCHIDEX HOUSE. THE CULTIVATION OF ORCHIDE. Orchideous plants are capable of reproducing themselves by seeds, and no doubt this method is constantly going on in nature ; but the success of man in attempting to turn to his advantage this natural property, has hitherto been rarely successful. This is a matter of less regret, as the majority of them are readily increased by the separation of their parts, and is an illustration of one of the many wise provisions made by Nature, namely, that plants which rarely produce perfect seed, are capable of being increased by a variety of other means; and again, such as are incapable of certain multiplication by those very means, as most annuals, and even a great many perennials, produce seeds in the greatest abundance. In regard to the cultivation of Orchideous plants, we find the following very sensible and useful preliminary remarks by Mr. Paxton, in his very excellent Magazine of Botany :—“ It is advisable,” says he, “ for every cultivator, as much as possible, to learn the native habits and situation of each separate species, in order to insure its successful management. Some species are found in low dense woods, where scarcely any sun can pene- trate; others grow on the trees near the open breaks in the wood, where they receive a little sun, plenty of light, and a free, but damp air; others, again, are found growing on single trees, in damp but exposed situations ; and others grow on single trees in elevated situations, where they are subject to a drier air and the burning rays of a tropical sun. All these kinds are subjected to a time of drought, and a somewhat low temperature for three or four months in the year: the knowledge of which particulars marks out the line to be pursued in the cultivation of the different species. ‘¢The plants of the first kind require shading from the rays of the sun, either by large plants in the house, by creepers, or by some other means, and must have a hot and damp atmosphere. “Those of the second kind should have a similar atmosphere, Mac will endure more sunshine than the last. The greatest part of the species come under this head. “Those of the third must also have a damp atmosphere, and plenty of heat ; but they thrive best if exposed to the sun, except just at mid-day ; for although the sun in the tropics shines with great power, it must be remembered that the plants receive considerable shelter from the branches of the trees, (although standing single), on which they grow. “The third class require a lower temperature, less humidity, and nearly CLASSIFICATION OF ORCHIDES. 335 a full exposure to the rays of the sun. The plants of all four enjoy light, a free air, and are subjected annually for three months or more to a low temperature and great drought, and it is worthy of remark that the time of drought and the decrease of temperature occur together. This may therefore, be considered their winter, or time of rest.’’ It must here, however, be remarked, that this season of rest does not occur at the same period to every individual species ; for while some are growing vigorously, others are enjoying a repose, and that of course in the same house; and this is more obvious in newly introduced plants than in such as have been long inhabitants of our stoves, who to a very great extent accommodate themselves to the general management that they are placed under; and it is not perhaps improbable but that in course of time the whole, or at least a great part, of every collection will thus far accommodate themselves to their actual circumstances. The vine and peach trees, long accustomed to be forced, become entirely changed in this respect, and have been known to push out into bud at mid-winter, when it has happened that artificial excitement has’ been withheld from them. Most of the plants of this tribe dislike to be moved from one place to another, particularly after they have become large: were it otherwise, something might be done in the way of temperature by placing them, at a proper season, at the coldest end of the house, where they should remain during their season of rest, and be also more conveniently kept dry. The time when their winter, as it may safely be called, commences, is to be determined not by the exact season of the year, but by the ap- pearance of the plants themselves; and when they appear to have the fewest external marks of excitability, as a shedding of the foliage, a change of colour in the pseudo-bulbs, &c., may be taken for the commencement of this season. In attempting to treat on the culture of this extraordinary tribe of plants, it will be necessary, for brevity sake, to consider them under the following heads; their great dissimilarity of character and geographical distribution rendering such an arrangement necessary. Orchideous plants may be considered as terrestrial, or epiphytal ; that is, either growing upon the ground, or attaching themselves to other vegetables, rocks, stones, &c. The latter division is by far the most numerous, and are also the most extraordinary in their organization. They also occupy such an extent of latitude that some distinction must be made in their culture as regards temperature. { 336 EPIPHYTAL TROPICAL ORCHIDEZ—POTTING AND SOIL. I. EPIPHYTAL, OR PARASITICAL TROPICAL ORCHIDEZ. i i POTTING AND SOIL. i | We can scarcely admit that there should be what is usually called a f general shifting or potting of any plants, much less so of those under our present consideration ; because the whole collection in a house can never | be exactly in the same state as to growth, health, excitement, &c. Pot- | ting should be attended to according to the circumstances of individual | i | plants, and we have found it a very good practice to examine any par- ticular collection at different periods, selecting at each examination those individuals that most required shifting, and leaving such as did not until another time. For potting Orchidee it may be taken as a pretty general Pei ae rule as to time, that period at which their season of rest expires, or just A ne as they are beginning to show symptoms of growing. Pots for this tribe va should be large in proportion to the plants, and cannot be too well ie | drained ; indeed, from one third to one half of the pot should be taken up with drainage alone, of which broken pots, small pieces of sandstone or brickbats is the best, being well calculated to absorb a supply of water, i which will be given out to the plants as they require it. Indeed, it 1 is a good practice to mix a quantity of similar materials along with the H soil in which the plants are to grow. i The soil used by the best cultivators is what is called turfy peat, of rather a sandy nature, cut from the surface of a moor or common upon which water does not lie during any part of the year, and having the surface herbage and as large a portion of fibrous matter in it as possible. ee Such a soil seldom requires what is called sweetening or previous pre- a paration, such as keeping for years piled up to rot, and being frequently ik if turned over during that time. It is, if of good quality, fit for use as soon f i as it is brought from the common, requiring only to be cut into pieces | about an inch square, and mixed with about one-third of broken pot- | Hy sherds, to render it still more capable of allowing the superfluous | | moisture to pass off. For it should be remembered that no species of Orchideee will thrive if stagnated water be allowed to remain about { / their roots. ) In potting, care should be taken that the plants be not set too deep; it is better to place them almost on the surface, and to support them with | sticks, to prevent their falling over, which may be done in a neat manner, | , Hie Haka i i ia f t i) BS 1 a 3 id He ¢ ie ats POTTING AND SOIL. BBY and so as to be scarcely perceptible, by fastening the pseudo-bulbs to the stick, which need not rise above their tops. Care should also be taken in potting that the fleshy, tender roots be not broken, and also that the turfy mould be laid over them in rather an open, loose manner, to allow the roots to find an easy passage through it, as well as the superabundant moisture to escape. Many species of Orchidez like to be planted on the top of a little pile or hillock, as it were, formed of turfy matter, considerably above the top of the pot, from whence they will send down their roots in quest of nourishment, while the crown or main body of the plant remains high and dry, and, therefore, safe from the effects of damp. Some species prefer to be potted in moss rather than in mould, and the best sort of moss for this purpose is half-decayed Sphagnum; but the kinds which prefer this medium to grow in will succeed equally well if the roots be tied up in bundles of the same material, and laid on a shelf or suspended from the roof, taking care to keep them sufficiently moist by frequent waterings. Of those which appear to like this mode of treat- ment we may enumerate the following, but to them it is possible that many more may be added :—Vanda, Aerides, Vanilla, Sarcanthus, Saccalo-~ bium, part of Epidendrum, part of Oncidium, Renanthera, &c. Many species will grow beautifully if laid or fixed to a piece of rough- barked rotten wood, the rough trunks of palms, on artificial rock-work, &e., according to the fancy or taste of the owner, all that is required being, to secure a little moss kept damp to their roots until they have at- tached. themselves to the material upon which they are placed. The Vanilla and some others we have observed growing luxuriantly in this way; but it is more a matter of taste, and of displaying their natural habits, than one of nursery culture, as the plants become so firmly at- tached to the material as not very readily to be separated from it. The species which admit of this mode of culture, aswell as of the last, may be equally well grown in baskets of wicker or wire-work, and suspended from the roof, and in this state while in bloom are exceedingly beautiful ornaments to bring into the drawing-room, where they may remain uninjured while they remain in bloom. The late Mr. Cattley, who was. a very successful cultivator of some species, had a box twenty or thirty feet in length suspended from the rafters of his stove; this box was filled with decayed wood, and the surface covered with green moss : in this the plants were set, and flourished exceedingly. Such a box, were it extended the whole length of a plant stove close to the back wall, and at a sufficient distance only from the glass to admit of head-room for the plants, would contain a very pretty Z 338 EPIPHYTAL TROPICAL ORCHIDEA. collection of Orchidez, and occupy but little space that could be useful to other plants. it would appear that the most minute and most delicate species thrive best when fastened to pieces of wood and suspended; for in this way they are less liable to be injured by wood-lice, damp, or by being overrun by other fast-growing sorts. Of the genera which thrive best in this way we may mention Ornithocephalus, Stelis, Octomeria, Trizeuxis, Pleuro- thallis, Fernandesia, &c. A few of the most rapid-growing kinds, particularly those with long pendulous branches, like some of the Dendrobiums, cultivated in baskets or pots, and suspended from the roof, give the house a very handsome appearance ; but they should not be placed over those delicate ones which require little water, because the drip from them would injure those below. TEMPERATURE AND ATMOSPHERE. Various experiments and the result of practice appear to have sufiici- ently established that a high temperature, and an atmosphere almost saturated with moisture, are essential requisites for the successful cultiva- tion of this tribe. It has been found that no temperature or soil will sustain them in drought, and when warmth and humidity were supplied in sufficient abundance, soil was apparently of no importance. It may not be amiss to lay down here something like positive data on this important point of culture, and, therefore we would say, that the mean temperature of the day should be about eighty-five degrees, and that of the night ten or fifteen degrees less ; the degree of humidity should be within a few degrees of Saturation: this is to be understood as applying to them only during their season of growth. During their season of repose the heat should not exceed sixty-five degrees, nor be less than fifty-five degrees; while this low temperature is maintained, watering must be lessened in pro- portion, seldom giving any at the roots, or at least no more than will preserve the plants from perishing. The atmosphere during this period should also be kept dry; and although many of the plants may appear of a yellowish cast and rather sickly appearance, this regimen is not to be deviated from, for when their season of growth arrives, if attended to, with abundance of heat, water, and room, they will not only grow much more luxuriantly, but flower better, than if they were kept in a state of constant excitement during the whole year. “ High temperature and excessive humidity are together the only con- ditions essential to the well-being of these plants. The hottest countries, TEMPERATURE AND ATMOSPHERE. 339 if dry, and the dampest if cool, are destitute of them ; while there is no instance of a country, both hot and damp, in which they do not abound.” —Ency. Gard. In regard to the proper degree of temperature and atmosphere neces- sary for these plants, we find the following judicious remarks in Paxton’s Magazine of Botany :—“ In the native habitats of these plants, the season of growth and flowering is that called the rainy season, at which time the temperature is high, and the humidity great. But the imitation of such a season in our hot-houses would be very likely to end in loss and disappointment : for although subjected to great humidity (indeed border- ing on saturation) in their native country, the situation they occupy in the trees prevents the possibility of injury, except in a few instances ; whereas in our artificial climates the same means used would saturate them, and they would speedily disappear. To imitate to a limited extent the above climate, may be done with benefit; therefore, during the season of growth, never allow the temperature of the house in which the plants are grown to be less than seventy-five degrees nor greater than ninety-five degrees by day, nor lower than sixty degrees or higher than seventy degrees by night. “Tt is also indispensable that the atmosphere of the house be kept moist in the day-time, particularly on sunny days: but towards evening allow the moisture to dry up, otherwise, when the temperature is decreased, if humidity remains to any great degree, we have found it invariably be- come wyurious, and to many small plants fatal: but in the morning increase the temperature, and when the house is hot pour water on the floor or other situations to fill the air with moisture.” There are few of the Orchidee that require water at their roots: indeed, they seem impatient of it, and many plants of this tribe are lost in consequence of an undue application of it, the humidity of the atmo- sphere in most cases being found sufficient. But when it is evident that water is required to be so applied, it should be administered by pouring it in limited quantities round the edges of the pot, allowing as little as possible to fall on the plant, excepting in the case of the robust-growing kinds, which will be rather benefited than otherwise by a moderate syringing over their tops. The following has been laid down by Mr. A. Scott, in a communication to Mr. Loudon, and published in the last edition of the Ency. of Gard. :— “The temperature of the stove should be kept while the plants are growing at about seventy degrees, but may be allowed to rise by the influence of the sun to eighty degrees, or more, according to the state of . Z2 \ 340 EPIPHYTAL TROPICAL ORCHIDES. the weather. All the strong-growing and many of the handsome species will, if the plants of them be large, succeed and flower better in a low temperature, as will nearly all the terrestrial species. The plants may be syringed once a day in fine weather, and in very warm dry weather, a more frequent syringing, if it be done with care, will be of service to many of the species. As a general caution, be sparing of giving much water to the roots, and keep up a moist heat. During the winter months, the plants may be allowed to become more dry and cool, and this con- dition will conduce to the flowering of many of the species. If an excess of heat and moisture be allowed, it will cause the plants to produce roots of so delicate a constitution as to be destroyed by the least declension of these elements. The condition of the atmosphere here [exotic nursery] has been examined when it has been deemed to be in a congenial state, and then its temperature has been seventy-five degrees of Fahrenheit, and Leslie’s hygrometer has generally indicated from twenty to thirty- five degrees of dryness. The necessity of supplying moisture will de- pend upon such circumstances as the size of the house, the distance of the plants from the flues or hot-water pipes, the degree in which the temperature is affected by the action of the sun’s heat, or by that of cold winds or other circumstances connected with the structure and aspect of the house. A sheltered, close, and humid stove is that which is most conducive to the health and growth of the Orchidez.” Mr. Cooper, of Wentworth, one of the most successful cultivators of this tribe, and one of the longest standing, differs from most other growers in respect to humidity, giving his plants no more than is usual to give the general collection of stove plants amongst which they grow. A more successful cultivator than Mr. Cooper is no where to be found, nor one more liberal in affording information to those who desire it. His speci- mens of Orchidee are truly magnificent, and some of them must be very old. Mr. Cooper and the late Mr. Cattley may be said to have been the first in this country who began collecting and cultivating this tribe of plants, and both succeeded in an eminent degree. PROPAGATION. The species of this tribe with long creeping stems, hike Renanthera, Vanilla, &c., are creased by cutting the branches or stems into pieces, choosing those pieces which are furnished with roots ; these, if mossed round at their pase and placed in a proper atmosphere, will grow very freely. Others like the Catasetums, Oncidiums, &c., are furnished with PROPAGATION. 341 pseudo-bulbs, a term given by Dr. Lindley to those swellings on the stems, and which, although differently constructed, are little else than true bulbs. Each of these has usually a bud upon it, and if separated from the mass of which it forms a part, will produce another plant. Dividing the Orchidez should be as much avoided as possible, for next to having small or bad specimens to begin cultivation with, that of con- stantly cutting them into pieces with a view to increase them is the next worst practice that can be followed. The following List of Epipnytal Tropical species would form a splendid collection, and are selected from the very choicest kinds. Aerides cdoratum Lou.—Native of China, extremely fragrant. The 4. cornutum of Bot. Mag. is only a synonyme. Aeranthes sesquipetalis Lindl.—Native of Madagascar ; a very splendid species. grandiflora Zind/.—Also from Madagascar ; hichly ornamental. Angulosa erandifiora Kth.—Native of South America. Superba. —Native of Peru. Batemannia Colleyi.—A new genus, of great beauty, named conjuncily after Joseph Bateman, Esq., and his coliector, Mr. Colley; a native of Demerara. Brassia caudata Lindl.—Native of the West Indies ; an elegant species. maculata Brown.—Native of Jamaica ; an elegant species. Lanceana.—A new species, named after J. H. Lauce, Esq., who dis- covered it in Demerara. Srasavyola nodosa. The Epidendrum nodosum of Linn. and the Cymbidium nodosum of Swartz, are only synonymes.— Native of the West Indies; very fragrant. cucullata Brown.—Also a native of the West Indies, particularly of Jamaica; very fragrant. Both should have a place in every collec- tion. Ceelogyne punctulata Lindl. } Both natives of the East Indies, and both equally nitida Lindi. beautiful ; the latter is fragrant. fimbriata Lindl.—Native of China. Catasetum tridentatum Hook.—Native of Trinidad. Claveringi Lind/.—Native of Brazil. floribundum Hook.—Native of Trinidad. lucidum.—The two first are supposed to be the same, only altered in appearance by cultivation. Cattleya labiata Lindl. Loddigesii Lindl. > Natives of South America, and very elegant. Forbesii Lindl. i oe ee of Rio, and considered the most splendid of the amily Both natives of Trinidad, and both very hand- Ceratochilus BY Sue Ban Eps some. The latter is the "Stanhopea insignis of sen Hooker, and of many collections. Cirrhceea Warreana Lodd.—Native of Brazil. Loddigesii Lind/.—Native country scarcely known; both species are exceedingly beautiful. Cyrtopodium Andersonii R. Brown.—Native of the East Indies. Woodfordii Bot. Mag. } Both natives of South America, and all three glutinosum Mey. worth the attention of the cultivator. Dendrobium speciosum Swartz.—Native of the warmer parts of New South Wales. o 342 TERRESTRIAL TROPICAL ORCHIDEZ. Dendrobium Pierardi Ror.—Native of the East Indies. Calceolaria Hook.—Native of the East Indies. pulchellum.—Native of Sylpet. moschatum Wallich.—Native of Pegu. longicornu Lindl.—Native of Nepal. chrysanthum Wallich.—Native of Nepal; a splendid genus, and well deserving the attention of cultivators. Epidendrum fragrans Swartz.—Native of Jamaica ; very fragrant. cuspidatum Lodd.—Native of the West Indies. nocturnum L.—Native of Jamaica; fragrant at night. bicornutum.—Very fragrant during the day. odoratissimum.—Although almost destitute of beauty, its fragrance renders it desirable in every collection. ciliare L.—Native of the West Indies. Gongora atropurpurea Hook.—Native of Trinidad and Demerara. speciosa Hook.—Native of Brazil. Both elegant flowering plants, and of easy culture. Maxillaria Harrisonie Lind/.—Native of South America. racemosa Hook.—Native of South America. picta. tetragona.—Native of Brazil, exceedingly fragrant. aromatica.—Exceedingly fragrant. AS : eens sar Z } Two very interesting species. Oncidium.—Of this beautiful genus it would be even difficult to make a selection; they are all exceedingly worth cultivating, and are natives of the West Indies, Mexico, and Brazil. Ornithidium coccineum Sal.—Native of the West Indies. Renanthera coccinea Lou.—Native of China, one of the most splendid of all Epiphytes. Rodriguezia secunda Kth.—Native of South America. Sarcochilus falcatus R. Brown.—Native of New Holland. Saccolobium guttatum.—An interesting species. Sarcanthus paniculatus Lind/.—Native of China. premorsus Lindl.—Native of the East Indies. Stanhopea insignis.—Native of Trinidad; a splendid species. if 3 . 17 . * Vanda eal By npg } Both natives of China, elegant species. Zygopetalum Mackai Hook.—Native of Brazil. rostratum Hook.—Native of Demerara. II. TERRESTRIAL TROPICAL ORCHIDE. POTTING AND SOIL. Much of what we have advanced when treating of tropical epiphytes is also applicable to those which are terrestrial also. Both require a season. of rest, and that season happens not to all species alike. A careful eye must be kept upon them, for many of the herbaceous kinds die down to the ground annually, and when that is observed, they should be removed to a cooler place, and kept very dry, to prevent them from becoming excited too soon. The winter is certainly the best time for this suspension of growth, but there will be some in all large collections which will continue in growth at all seasons of the year. . ORCHIDEA. Cypripedium Calceolus Dendrobium fimbriatum. Dendrobium Moniliferme. Prinied in Oil Colours, by G. Baxter, Patentee, 3, Charterhouse Square ee _ eee a eT a hanimnmmatiiiaddhe — Re ana Oh ae psa gal ee = Re SPSS ws —. = ————— Hae ae 382 THE TROPICAL FRUIT STOVE. COCOA-NUT TREE (Cocos nucifera). This magnificent East Indian palm grows to a great height in its native country. It is by no means rare in botanical collections in Europe, nor are its uses and history unfamiliar. The following is the mode of culture recommended in the Ency. of Gard., as the most. likely to induce it to produce its fruit in this country :—“ The nuts are to be planted where they are designed to remain, as the tree will not bear transplanting unless very young. Ina moist heat they will push in six weeks or two months. To cultivate for fruit, plant in the centre of the area of a house, twenty- five feet wide, and either lofty or with a moveable roof, which will admit of being raised as the tree advances in height. In this way, with a strong heat, there can be no doubt this tree would produce fruit in England ; but even if it did not, or did not for a great many years, the magni- ficence of its appearance, under such a mode of treatment, would com- pensate a curious horticulturist for the labour and expense. Though the cocoa-nuts to be obtained in shops are supposed to be gathered before they are ripe, yet they have been found to grow with no other care than planting in a large pot or box in rich earth, and plunging in a bark bed. It may be observed here that this is almost the only palm that could be cultivated in this country for perfecting its fruit: for the others being dicecious plants, unless a great number were grown together, there would be no legitimate means of impregnating the female blossom.””—(See Pau STOVE.) THE JAMROSADE, OR ROSE APPLE (Eugenia jambos). This is a well-known inhabitant of our stoves, and was cultivated so early as 1768 by the celebrated Phillip Miller. it is a native of the East Indies, and attains the height of from twenty to thirty feet. The fruit is about as large as a hen’s egg, and rose-scented, in flavour much re- sembling a ripe apricot. It appears that there are several varieties of this fruit, differing in size and colour—a circumstance easily imagined, as we find it to be the case in most fruits that are esteemed or have been long cultivated, particularly from seeds, as by that means new varieties are perpetually originating, as may be instanced in the case of the apple, pear, and our other domestic fruits. The late Professor Thouin, of the Jardin des Plantes, at Paris, cultivated a white variety very successfully for several years. By his experiments it would appear that the plants require a high temperature and moist atmosphere, for all his endeavours to harden them by exposure, even during summer, failed. GRAPES, APPLES, COFFEE TREE. 383 COUNTRY GRAPES (Vitis cesia). A native of Sierra Leone, a half-shrubby climber : the fruit is produced in small bunches, and is round, black, of a rather acid, not over-pleasant taste. It produces immense crops of fruit, and could be cultivated suc- cessfully in a Tropical Fruit house in this country. | COUNTRY CURRANTS (dntidesma sp.? ) A native also of Sierra Leone, producing plenty of fruit upon small bushes, and of very easy culture. MONKEY APPLE (Anisophylla Laurina). A native of Congo and Sierra Leone. It attains the height of forty or fifty feet naturally, but would of course by cultivation produce fruit at a much less height. The fruit in size and form resembles a pigeon’s egg, red on the sunny side, and yellow on that which is most shaded ; _ the flavour is something between that of a nectarine and a plum. MALAY APPLE (Eugenia malaccensis). A native of the South Sea Islands, resembling in general appearance the Jamrosade, or rose apple. The fruit is about an inch and a half in diameter, fleshy, sweet-smelling, and agreeable both to the taste and sight, as well as wholesome and nutritious. Its cultivation is not different from that of other tropical Eugenias, many species of which are inhabit- ants of our plant stoves. COFFEE TREE (Coffea arabica). Arabia is generally supposed to have been the native region of this tree, although some naturalists have adduced reasons to show that it might have passed into that country from Persia, whose inhabitants are sup- posed to have received it from Ethiopia, where it has been in use from time immemorial. ‘The migration of the coffee shrub from Arabia to the tropical regions of the West, was effected circuitously by way of Europe. About the year 1690, the then governor of Batavia, Van Hoorn, | procured some berries of the coffee tree from Mocha, in Arabia Felix, and raised many plants in the island of Java, whence he sent one to Nicholas Witsen, a burgomaster of Amsterdam, and the governor of the 384 THE TROPICAL FRUIT STOVE. Dutch East Indian Company. This plant arrived in a healthy condition, and was placed in the botanical gardens of Amsterdam, where, by care- ful management, it was made to bear seeds, and in the course of a few years many young plants were raised from its produce. ““Many years elapsed, however, ere the progeny of the Amsterdam plant was conveyed to a more congenial climate, and where it could be rendered practically useful. It was not till the year 1718, that the colonists of Surinam began to form coffee plantations, and nearly ten years more had passed before the plant was conveyed by the French to their colony in Martinico. The advantages attending the cultivation were now, however, become so manifest, that it quickly spread through the neighbouring islands. In 1728, Sir Nicholas Laws first introduced the coffee plant into Jamaica, where it was cultivated on the estate since called Temple Hall, in Laguanea. In four years after that period it had already proved itself of sufficient importance to command the attention of the legislature of that island, and an act of council and assembly was passed to encourage its growth. ‘The annual consumption of coffee in Europe has been estimated to amount to 110,500 tons, of which it is calculated that 10,000 tons are consumed in Britain alone.”—Tropical Agriculturist. The culture of the coffee as a plant of ornament is exceedingly simple, and where there is room to spare for them in a large garden, a con- siderable supply may be obtained from half-a-dozen trees. At one period of our practice we had twenty-four of these trees in a full bearing state, and annually procured from them several pounds weight of berries, which when roasted and ground in the usual manner produced to the _ proprietor very excellent coffee of his own growth. These trees, for want of better accommodation, were grown in a large vinery from February till October, and required little other attention than that of a liberal supply of water. From the latter end of October till February they are placed in a pine stove, as they are very impatient of cold. The fragrance of their blossom, and the beautiful red appearance of the ripe fruit, with successive crops of berries in various stages of growth, had a very good effect. They are propagated most readily from seeds, which will vegetate _ and grow rapidly, and plants three years old under good management will produce fruit, and continue for many years. THE LOQUAT (Mespilus japonica). This is a native of Japan, which has been long an inhabitant of our greenhouses, and indeed has in many instances been found to succeed in ra THE MANGOSTAN. 385 the open air trained against a wall. The fruit is about the size of a large gooseberry, and much like the apple in flavour. The Loquat has produced fruit in the gardens of Lord Bagot, in Staffordshire, who gives the following outline of its culture :—‘“‘ The plan I have usually followed,” says his lord- ship, “‘ has been to give it a winter, (out of doors) during the months of July, August, and September, and about the middle of October to replace if in a very warm situation in the tan. This summer, however, I was obliged to alter my mode, for just at the moment when I was going to put it out for its winter, it became covered with at least twenty of the finest flowers possible ; I was, therefore, obliged to let it remain where it was. The present year’s treatment, therefore, is an exception to the former practice ; under that, it usually breaks into flower about the end ot December, and the fruit becomes ripe in March and April.” THF MANGOSTAN (Garcinia mangostana). This splendid tree is a native of the Molucca islands, attaining the height of about twenty feet. It has been introduced, and is successfully cultivated, in Java and Malacca, where it is much esteemed. Dr. Garcin, after whom the genus was named, describes it as the most delicious of all the East Indian fruits, and says that a great quantity of it may be eaten without inconvenience, and recommends it as the only fruit that sick people may eat of without scruple. - The fruit is round, about the size of an ordinary orange, of a delicious flavour, partaking of the strawberry and the grape. They are propagated by the usual modes, viz., seeds and cuttings. Seeds, however, soon lose their vegetative properties, and are with difficulty imported in a sound state: cuttings are readily rooted, and soon make strong plants. It has been long known in this country, and is noticed by Miller, who gives the fol- lowing as the outline of its culture :—‘‘ Sow the seeds in tubs of earth in their native country, and when the plants have obtained strength, they may be brought to Europe; but there should be great care taken to screen them from salt water in their passage, as also not to give them too much _ water when in a cool or temperate.climate. When the plants arrive in Europe they should be carefully transplanted, each into a pot filled with light kitchen garden mould, and plunged in the tan bed, and shaded from the sun till they have taken fresh root ; then treat them as suggested for other stove plants.” cc 386 THE TROPICAL FRUIT STOVE. MONKEY BREAD (Adansonia digitata). This tree, of the enormous size of which such wonderful accounts have been reported, was not found by Mr. Don, in his journey to Sierra Leone, to exceed that of a large apple tree. In regard to its fruit we may observe, that it is of considerable size, containing a farmaceous pulp full of seeds, tasting something like gingerbread, but with a pleasant acid flavour. It is pretty common in the stoves in this country, and is found to be so easily cultivated that any particular notice of it would be superfiuous. SWEET PISHAMIN (Carpodinus dulcis). This new genus of plants was established by the learned and amiable Robert Brown, Esq., in whose herbarium specimens of it exist; but we believe that, although observed by Mr. Don growing plentifully on the Martello-tower Hili, near Tree Town, Sierra Leone, and by other col- lectors, it has not as yet reached us in a living state. Were its merits as a fruit-bearing tree sufficiently known, we doubt not but that it would - soon find its way to this country. It is described by Mr. Don as a climbing shrub, producing fruit re- sembling the lime, and growing pendulous either singly or in pairs. The pulp is agreeable and sweet, and when broken yields a quantity of sweet milky juice. There is another species, which produces fruit more abun- dantly than this, but much less agreeable to the taste. THE MANGO (Mangifera indica.) This fruit is a native of the East Indies, but has been long ago intro- duced and successfully cultivated In most of the West Indian islands, particularly in Jamaica, where several varieties of greater or less merit are cultivated. The late Sir Stamford Raffles assures us that there are above forty varieties of mango known in Java alone. The fruit is described as a kidney-shaped drupe, or berry, covered with a smooth, resinous, pale yellowish, or half-red skin, containing an oyal, compressed stone, within which is a soft and pulpy kernel. It is con- sidered wholesome, and is exceeded in point of flavour by no other Tropical fruit, the pime-apple only excepted. Two varieties of the mango have been fruited in this country by the Earl of Powis, which, in honour of his THE MANGO. 387 lordship, have been named the Red and Yellow Powis Mangoes, of which the following notice has been published in the Hort. Trans. vol. vi. p. 551: “ The red Powis mango was ripened in the garden at Walcot, in the be- ginning of September ; and the tree which bore it produced at the same time thirty-five other fruit, of unequal size, but of equal excellence in flavour. In form it resembled a compressed oval, with one end a little curved inwards ; the skin was of a rich olive colour, becoming green to- wards the apex, and being deeply stained on the exposed side with bright crimson, breaking into spots of a darker colour. The fiesh was deep yellow, filled with an abundant juice, very tender, but fibrous next the stone, from which it was inseparable. The flavour was sweet, rather luscious, highly perfumed, with a decided taste of turpentine, but diffused in a most admirable proportion, so as to produce a very agreeable and novel effect upon the palate. This resinous taste was more concentrated in the skin, in which it was combined with a slight proportion of acid. “Of the yellow Powis mango, one fruit only was produced, which ripened in the beginning of October. The skin was of a pale, dull, yellow-ochre colour, a little brighter and more orange-coloured towards the stalk, and covered over, when minutely examined, with numerous paler specks. When fresh gathered it was covered with a delicate bloom, which it did not wholly lose after having been kept nearly a fortnight. It did not appear to differ much in taste from the first; perhaps was a little more luscious, and also in a slight degree more fibrous. “Tt does not appear that the management under which these mangoes were ripened possesses much peculiarity. The plants are in pots, plunged in the tan pit of a good stove, which is maintained at a temperature of from seventy to ninety-six degrees, by means of a particular application of hot water. Lord Powis conceives that it is this mode of heating which has mainly contributed to force the plants to produce their fruit.” We are rather surprised at the weakness of the concluding conjecture, knowing that heat is the same powerful agent, whether a and diffused by smoke-flues, steam, or hot water. The mango is easily propagated by cuttings, and there can be no doubt but that it might be produced in. great abundance in a Tropical Fruit house, or even in an ordinary stove. The principal point is to procure good varieties, as many of them are, like some of our apples and pears, hardly worth cultivating. Good varieties can be obtained from Jamaica. We once had a mango tree presented to us by a gentleman who had it dug up out of his garden in Jamaica, and transported to England, because he was certain of the excellent quality of the sort; but it was ccZ 388 THE TROPICAL FRUIT STOVE. unfortunately lost, two years after its introduction, through circumstances over which we had no control. THE CHOCOLATE TREE (Theobroma Cacao). The Cacao tree is extensively cultivated in many of the settlements in Spanish America, particularly in Mexico, where it has been raised for an unknown length of time. The cacao tree is thus described in The Library of Entertaining Knowledge : —“ It seldom rises above the height of twenty feet ; its leaves are large, oblong, and pointed. The flowers, which are small, and of a pale red colour, spring from the large branches; they are succeeded by oval pointed pods, that contain a white pithy substance, which is sweet, but disagreeable, and surround- ing numerous seeds: these are the cacao of commerce.” The Theobroma is increased by seeds, and also by cuttings, and requires only the culture of a well-regulated stove to grow it to perfection. In its native country it requires the growth of six or seven years from seed to attain a fruitful state; therefore, under the influence of artificial culture we may naturally conclude that a tree, enjoying good health and proper treatment, will not produce fruit under that period, if so soon. THE SUGAR-CANE (Saccharum officinarum.) The sugar-cane, although not a fruit-bearing tree, is of sufficient im- portance to demand a place in a stove dedicated to the cultivation of Tropical Plants, as the produce of it is interesting to us, as ministering so largely to our comforts and luxuries. The sugar-cane has been cultivated in our stoves since 1597, and, con- sequently, is one of their oldest inhabitants. It is of easy culture, requiring plenty of heat, and a moist, rich soil. With us it attains the height of seven or eight feet, but never fiowers. During the short period that the Empress Josephine enjoyed the title of wife to the most capricious of men, the sugar-cane was grown upon a pretty extensive scale in the royal gardens at Paris, and from the produce of the canes so cultivated a small sugar-loaf was made and presented to the Empress, who, it ts well known, was a most enthusiastic promoter of horticulture and botany. TAMARIND TREE (TYamarindus indicus). The tamarind tree has been long an inhabitant of our stoves and TROPICAL SPICES. 389 ‘greenhouses; it has not, however, that we are aware of, yet produced fruit in the gardens of Europe. This tree is a native of the East and West Indies, and also of Arabia and Egypt. The pods produced on the West Indian trees are from two to five inches long, and contain two, three, or four seeds; the Hast Indian ones are twice as long, and contain nearly double the number of seeds. The crop of pods is usually ripe in the West Indies about June, July, and August; they are then gathered, and when cleared of the shelly fragments, are placed in casks, in regular and compact layers, over which boiling syrup of sugar is poured, to fill up all cavities: they are then fit for exportation. The Hast Indian tamarinds are said to be preserved without sugar. The boiling syrup appears to have little effect upon their vegetative functions, for we have frequently obtained plenty of young plants from the seeds taken out of the tamarinds in their preserved state. It might be worth the trial to see how far the seeds of other Tropical Plants might be safely imported a being packed in a similar manner. The tamarind tree is of very easy culture, requiring only the tempera- ture of the stove, and a loam and peat soil. It was remarked by Miller, that although he had several plants of twenty years’ growth, they had shown no disposition to produce their flowers, and we believe this has been universally the case. TROPICAL SPICES. it is not less singular than true, that the plants which produce the mest esteemed spices are all natives of the tropics, and also that not one of them has been found to produce its fruit in the open air of Britain. The use of spices is of the highest antiquity, and Frankin- cense and Myrrh are names handed down to us by the earliest historians. ** Spices have always been regarded as luxurious acquisitions, while their small comparative bulk, and consequent facility of transport, caused them to be amongst the first articles of commerce obtained from remote | countries. The inhabitants of more temperate regions have, therefore, for ages been in the enjoyment of most of the most delicious aromatics fostered by a tropical sun.”—Library of Entertaining Knowledge. Arabia Felix is said to have obtained its name from the ancient 390 THE TROPICAL FRUIT STOVE. geographers on account of its odoriferous plants; and as the rest of the then civilized world procured their spices from that country, they, in their imperfect knowledge of geography, concluded that these spices were its natural produce, not considering that it was possible for this supply to be obtained from a country much more remote. It is con- jectured, and on pretty good authority, that the spices presented by the Queen of Sheba to the wise monarch of Judah were procured from Ceylon, or the islands still farther to the east. , THE CINNAMON TREE (Laurus cinnamomum). This tree has been an inhabitant of our stoves since 1763. In its natural state it attains the height of from twenty to thirty feet, but when cultivated for its bark it is kept cut like a coppice, numerous shoots springing from the roots, which are not allowed to rise above ten feet. ‘In three years after planting, each tree affords one shoot fit for cutting ; at the fifth year from three to five shoots may be taken,” and in eight years it yields as many as ten shoots, each an inch in - thickness. When from ten to twelve years old it is considered in per- fection, but will continue much longer, as an extension of the root en- ables it to send up fresh supplies of shoots for years. The shoots are cut when of the above thickness, and then into lengths of from two to three feet, and when properly dried it is fit for exportation. Besides Ceylon, it grows plentifully in Malabar, Cochin-China, Sumatra, and the Eastern Islands. It has been cultivated in the Brazils, the Mauritius, India, Jamaica, and other places. The soilin which it thrives best is nearly pure quartz sand. That of the cinnamon garden near Colombo, in Cey- lon, was found by Dr. Davy to consist of 98°5 of silicious sand, and 1:0 » only of vegetable matter in 100 parts. “The garden is nearly on a level with the lake of Colombo: its situation is sheltered: the climate is re- markably damp: showers are frequent, and the temperature is high and uncommonly equable.”—Davy’s Ceylon. The Cinnamon tree is considered difficult to cultivate in England, even in our best regulated stoves. The Messrs. Loddiges appear to be more successful in this respect than most cultivators, and that may perhaps be accounted for by their keeping their stoves much warmer than is gene- rally done by the best gardeners. A mixture of sandy loam and peat is recommended by Sweet as the best kind of soil, the pots being well drained prior to the plants being placed in them. But it is \ THE CASSIA, CAMPHOR, CLOVE. 391 very probable that a soil of a more sandy nature may be more congenial to it. THE cassia (Laurus cassia.) The Cassia of commerce is chiefly supplied from China, and it is alto- gether a much hardier plant than the cinnamon, and succeeds better in cultivation. The same soil and treatment, however, are requisite. CAMPHOR (Laurus camphora). The Camphor tree is a hardy greenhouse plant, and is of the easiest culture, requiring only to be protected from frost. Camphor is obtained by subjecting the roots and smaller branches to distillation. It is pro- bable that the whole family of Laurus might be grafted or enarched on the common Laurus nobilis with success. CLOVE (Caryophyllus aromaticus). It is a curious fact, that although Europeans have known the use of this spice for more than two thousand years, vet it is little more than three centuries since they discovered from whence it was obtained. The tree was introduced into this country in 1797, by Sir Joseph Banks, but it has been found so difficult to cultivate, that very few specimens of it are at this time to be met with, even in our best botanical gardens. The diffi- culty in its cultivation is not confined entirely to the gardens of Europe. for we find that even in the tropics it is not easily established. An ac- count of its culture in Dominica by M. Buée is given in the Tropical Agriculturist, a work replete with excellent information on all that relates to such matters. After several disappointments, M. Buée found that the clove succeeded best “‘ in a sterile soil, composed of a yellowish or reddish stiff clay, such as that in which the pimento flourishes, but which, for the generality of crops, is scarcely fit for cultivation.” As-the clove has hitherto been considered of difficult cultivation, we may be excused for making the following quotation from the practice of M. Buée, as the intelligent English gardener may draw from it some useful conclusions : “The seeds were sown about six inches apart from each other, in beds. Over these beds some small frames were erected, about three feet from the ground, and plantain leaves were spread on the top, in order to shelter the young plants from thesun. The leaves were allowed gradually to decay, and at the end of nine months the young plants, which by