THE FLORAL WORLD AND GARDEN GUIDE. 



53 



it will be a long time before they recover 

 themselves. I should, therefore, advise 

 those who have the care of plants of this 

 description to be careful how they use the 

 water-pot in the autumn and winter, but 

 in the spring and summer they may have 

 plenty of water. If the plants are well 

 drained, I should never advise any person 

 to turn them out of doors, but to keep 

 them in the house or pits, and give plenty 

 of air night and day, if the weather is 

 mild ; for if they are turned out of doors, 

 they often get scorched with the sun or 

 drenched with the rain, which are both 

 very destructive of the health of the 

 plants. 



The best time to propagate this genus 

 of plants is in the spring and summer ; 

 that is, when the young shoots have made 

 about four to five leaves, or rather joints, 

 that is, of the large-leaved species ; those 

 shoots destined for cuttings should be 

 slipped off with the finger and thumb, as 

 that brings the lower joint along with the 

 cutting. Any bark that adheres to the 

 cutting from the old wood should be taken 

 off with a sharp knife, and the little knob, 

 which forms the end of the cutting, wiL 1 

 form the roots when the cutting is put in 

 the pot. With regard to the small-leaved, 

 or rather heath-leaved species, the cutting 

 should be taken off when the young 

 wood is about an inch and a-half long ; 

 they should be taken off in the same man- 

 ner as is recommended for the larger 

 leaved species. In the pots in which the 

 cuttings are to be put at the bottom 

 should be placed some potsherds, and 

 over them should be some turfy peat or 

 moss, to prevent the sand from getting 

 amongst the potsherds ; the pot then 

 should be filled up with very fine white 

 sand, and gently watered, and be pressed 

 lightly clown ; and when it is firm and 

 well settled down, the cuttings should be 

 inserted. All round the edge of the pot 

 should be left as much room as will admit 

 of a bell-glass being put on. They should 

 be gently watered overhead before the 

 glass is put on; they then should be 



placed in a gentle bottom heat, and the 

 glasses dried every morning, so as to pre- 

 vent any damp lying about the plant. A 

 little water should be given them when 

 they want it. Great care should be taken 

 with the shading of them, for if the sun 

 touch them, they will not recover it soon. 

 The cuttings will strike in a short time, 

 and when they are all well rooted, they 

 should be potted off immediately into 

 thumb-pots, and shifted as often as they 

 require it, so that the plants may never 

 become stunted. If care be bestowed 

 upon this genus, it will repay the little 

 trouble that is taken with it by a fine 

 show of flowers. 



Where this tribe of plants is grown, as 

 little fire as possible should be used, as 

 they do not like artificial heat ; but they 

 would frequently do much better if they 

 were kept dry and without fire for the 

 most part of the winter, and only a little 

 used when the frost was severe. They are 

 pretty hardy when kept rather dry. It is 

 when the soil is wet that the frost hurts 

 them ; therefore, when they want water, 

 it is better to give the water early in the 

 clay, so that it may be dried off by night. 

 In the spring, when the plants begin to 

 grow, the house or pit in which they are 

 grown should be kept rather close and 

 warm, that they may get a good start, 

 and that they may be enabled to make 

 their growth as early as possible, so that 

 their wood may be well ripened before 

 winter*. When the wood is well ripened 

 in the autumn, a good show of flowers 

 may be depended upon the following 

 spring and summer. That the plants 

 may be kept in good health, and without 

 much fire heat, or rather without any, the 

 water used for watering should be as near 

 the temperature of the house in which 

 they are grown as possible, or rather 

 above than below it ; for if they are wa- 

 tered with very cold water, it is apt to 

 chill the roots, and give a check to the 

 plants, which they will not easily re- 

 cover. 



P. N. Dox. 



PBEPAKATION OF COMPOSTS. 



Hate an out-of-the-way airy spot, and 

 there collect upon occasions the top spit 

 of a turfy-loam ; with this mix, layer for 

 layer, the wet litter and sweepings of the 

 stable. Let it lie for some months, then 

 chop it down small, and throw it into a 

 heap. In frosty weather turn it over, and, 



do this for a couple of years. Obtain 

 from the cowman of the fields a load of 

 cow-dung, and submit this to the same 

 treatment until it becomes simple black 

 mould. Erect in some suitable place a 

 little shed, open back and front for the 

 free admission and circulation of air. Eit 



