198 



THE FLORAL WORLD AND aARDEN GUIDE. 



little plant above-mentioned are more than 

 two feet and a-half lonjr, but they will pro- 

 bably attain double that size. It is im- 

 possible, without the use of colour, to give 

 an idea of the variegation of this plant : 

 our sketch, tlierefore, only shows the liabit 

 of it. No two leaves are alike; some have 

 nearly half their surface of a creamy white, 

 while others have large irregular blotches 

 intermingled with smaller spots, some of 

 them of pure white, others very pale green. 

 The leaf-stalks, too, which clasp the stem, 

 are usually striped like a ribbon. 



It was" found in Ceylon, and was sent 

 by Mr. Tliwaites tiie enthusiastic director 

 of the Botanic Garden at Peradenia, in that 

 island, to the Royal Gardens at Kew. It 

 enjoys a good rich soil ; it can scarcely be 

 too good ; and, as it grows naturally in 

 mai-shy soil, it requires a plentiful supply 

 of water. Indeed, where there is a tropical 

 aquarium, the pot may be half plunged in 



the warm water, with evident advantage to 

 the plant. It must not be dried off too 

 much in winter, like many of the more 

 commonly cultivated aroids, but, of course, 

 during that period of the year the pot 

 shou'd not stand in water. The only way 

 of propagating it will be by the young off- 

 sets which arc freely made around the 

 base of the stem. As soon as the plant has 

 made a stem, it miglit be cut off close to 

 the ground, and if kept moderately dry, 

 with a good bottom-heat, it will strike 

 freely ; the old root will then tlirow up 

 suckers plentifully. Tliis is the first year 

 it has been exhibited, and it has already 

 gained several prizes. Next year will see 

 it a conspicuous object in every collection 

 of foliage plants. "Wlijle it was still j'oung, 

 there was some confusion about its name ; 

 it Wiis several times exhibited as Alocasia 

 (or Colocasia) edulis variegata, bat that 

 above given is its correct cognomen. 



PEOriTABLE aAEDENING. 



CHAPTEE XX. — CITLTUIiE OF THE APPLE. 



Choice of Trees. — In selecting 

 trees for the formation of an apple 

 orcliard, or a small selection in a pri- 

 vate garden, care should be taken 

 first to have only those sorts that are 

 best adapted to the intended purposes 

 and to the soil and situation of the 

 place. It is also important that the 

 trees should be clean in growth, the 

 wood ripe, the graft perfectly healed, 

 and the required sorts on stocks 

 adapted to their habit and the way 

 in which they are to be grown. In 

 the choice of standards it is no detri- 

 ment, but rathei- an advahtaeje, if the 

 stems are furnished with short side- 

 branches closely pinched in from near 

 the graft (if t/utt be near the root) to 

 the head, as the stems will be stouter, 

 stonger, and heartier than those that 

 have been run up quite bare by cut- 

 ting away the side growths. In the 

 latter case the stems may be clean and 

 straight, but they will be slender and 

 weak ; in the other the stems will 

 have derived strentrth from tlie side- 

 shoots, which may be cut clean away 

 irom the bottom upward:^, as the head 

 acquires povA'er to use the whole sap 

 of the tree. But as the majority of 

 standards are worked standard high 



the stems are generally strong before 

 the graft is inserted, and the planter 

 has nothing more to do with the for- 

 mation of the tree except to regulate 

 the growth of the head. In all cases 

 orchard standards should be on crab 

 stocks, which give great vigour to the 

 varieties grafted on them, and readily 

 adapt themselves to a variety of soils. 

 But for gardens, strong growing sorts 

 such as Norfolk Beefing, Blenheim 

 Orange, etc., make very excellent me- 

 dium standards if worked on the 

 Doucin stock, and the best method of 

 forming them is to. choose trees worked 

 near the ground with clean single 

 stems. These stems are to be allowed 

 to run up to sis or seven feet, and 

 then the head can be formed of three 

 or four of the strongest top-shoots ; 

 while attaining this height the side- 

 shoots should not be cut away but re- 

 gularly pruned in to prevent any of 

 them taking the lead ; they will ma- 

 terially assist in swelling the stem and 

 promoting an early habit of bearing 

 when the head is formed. They should 

 be removed afterwards, a few at a time, 

 by a clean cut to the base, even with 

 tlie circumference of the stem, begin- 

 ning from the bottom and proceeding 



