THE FLORAL WORLD AND GARDEN GUIDE. 



55 



be made more florlferous than they natu- 

 rally are; and even many of our inor.i showy 

 herbaceous flowers, as is well known, and 

 may be expedited in flowering by early 

 sowing and protection; and many l)y prun- 

 ing or cutting back may have their flower- 

 ing and beauty prolonged. Even mig- 

 nunette, candytuft, and other similar 

 border flowers arc rendered longer attrac- 

 tive by timely cutting in. The above are 

 only a few of the expedients to which the 

 flower-gardener wlio aims at making the 

 finest display on his beds and borders at all 



times may have recourse. And as it often 

 happens that the owners of the best kept 

 flower-gardens only see them occasionally, 

 or at certain times in the year, the manager 

 should study to have the finest show of 

 flowers he can at the time of the owner's 

 visits. An excellent flower-gardener of 

 our acquaintance cuts off" almost all his 

 finest border-flowers a month or six weeks 

 before he expects the family to arrive, ia 

 order that a second bloom may come forth 

 when most required. 



CTANOPHYLLTJM MAGNIFICUM, 



This is, without a doubt, one of the finest 

 plants in cultivation, the most glorious 

 specimen among late importation-, and a 

 plant destined to play a conspicuous part 

 in the exhibitions of the coining season. 

 On these grounds we believe a few words 

 upon its cultivation will be ac( eiitablf- to 

 our readers. It is a native of Ntw Cale- 

 donia, and wiis introduced by M. Lin<len, 

 the Director of the Botanic and Zoological 

 Gardi ns of Brussels, to wluse energy and 

 perseverance we are indebted for so m^ny 

 fine pliincs. Cyanophyllum belongs to the 

 natural order Mehistomaceaj, which also 

 presents us with tlie beautiful Medinella, 

 Ccntradenia, Sonerila, and other fine 

 genera. The le;ives are oi'posite.each pair 

 being placed at ri^ht angles to ih;it next 

 below it. They are ovsite-laiiceolate in 

 form, and of immense size; ^oIne Imve even 

 attuineii the length of three feet, and ten 

 inches or a fi>'it in width. Ti ey are crim- 

 son on tiie under side and dark green, with 

 conspicuous light veins on the upper TI ey 

 droop- grjicefnlly, a thort s-touc footstulk 

 enabling them to stand out clenr of the 

 stem, and tliey overlap each other in a 

 most beautiful maimer. 



Those of our readers who have young 

 plants i-hould >tart them into growth at 

 once, by plunging them in the tiin-bed of a 

 stove or pine pit. As soon as the pot is 

 fu 1 of roots, give it a liberal shift, using 

 soil compiised principally of good fibrous 

 lumps of peat, a little leaf- mould and loam, 

 and a plentiful admixtuie of sharp sand. 

 As farrs possible keep the upper side of ihe 

 foliiige dry, ttiough the plant niay be bene- 

 fited by occasionally damping the under 

 side of the leaves, but it should be admi- 

 nistered as lightly as dew. If the atmos- 

 pliere of the house be kept constantly moi-t, 

 this will be seldom required. Should the 

 plant attempt to m^ko laterals, these should 

 be at once picked out, as the beauty of the 

 plant is never seen to such advantage as 



when grown on a single stem ; and, more- 

 over, tliis will throw the whole energy of 

 the plant into the leaves which remain, 

 and cause them to become much larger. 

 S'lilt the pi nt as often as the pot becomes 

 full of routs ; nev r allow it, from the want 

 of this, or from becoming dry, to receive a 

 check, or the ftdiage will be certain to 

 record it. Be carelul also to shude in 

 summer; if the leaves he exposed to direct 

 sunshine, they soon loose that silky gloss 

 which is halt their charm, and they soon 

 turn brown at the point and edges. Most 

 likely it will be found advisable not to 

 grow the s»me plant more than two seasons; 

 we had better, there ore, say a few words 

 upon its propatratiiin. We have often struck 

 the leaves witlu.ut Huy hud at the bottom; 

 Imt although tliey have filled the pots with 

 roots, yet we never iixiuced ihem to throw 

 up a shoot ; they lived for a time, but then 

 gradually wither* d and died. Tlie best 

 way is to cut the stem of the preceding 

 year mto single joints, and put each singly 

 into a little pot, plunge in a f,'Ood stiong 

 liot-bed, and cover with a hand-glass. This 

 01 eration should be done as quickly as 

 possible ; foi as the leaves are large and 

 very thin, they easily flag or droop. Tliey 

 should be supported, too, by a couple of 

 little sticks. If tnese do not succeed, you 

 will have still a chance, and a much belter 

 one, with the little shoots which will be 

 produced by the original plant. These 

 should be taken off when about two inches 

 long, and, like the others, placed by the 

 side of the smallest pot, -.nd in very ianuy 

 peat soil. 



Cyanophyllum magnificum was sent 

 out in 1859; last year it was followed by 

 another species, C. Assamicuni, which is a 

 smaller plant, and by no means equal to 

 the other m beauty. We have never yet 

 heard of the flowering of the C. magnifi- 

 cum. Probably the flower would not cor- 

 respond in size with the foliage. 



