THE FLORAL WORLD AND GARDEN GUIDE. 



203 



been urged to their disparagement 

 that they generate fungus in the pro- 

 cess of fermentation to an extent that 

 causes the destruction of large quan- 

 tities of the plants that are grown in 

 them. As far as my experience has 

 gone, they are not at all apt to sur- 

 pass in this troublesome propensity 

 either of the other subjects usually 

 employed for the production of bot- 

 tom-heat. Indeed, I do not recollect 

 to have seen this fungus more than 

 once or twice. It spreads very rapidly 

 after making its appearance ; but it is 

 instantly destroyed by taking the pots 

 out of the place affected, and either 

 mixing up with it a handful of com- 

 mon salt, or taking the hatch entirely 

 out, and introducing a forkful or two 

 of fresh hops. 



Besides being one of the most 

 successful subjects for the production 

 of bottom-heat, there is scarcely any 



soft-wooded plant that will not root 

 freely into them, even when in a com- 

 paratively fresh state, and when they 

 have rotted into mould. At the end 

 of a year from the time they are 

 taken from the brewhouse, a first- 

 rate material is produced for mixing 

 with loam, or any other soil that may 

 be used for striking or potting on 

 soft-wooded plants. Some of the best 

 fuchsias I ever saw, either for vigo- 

 rous growth or size, and richness of 

 blossom, were some grown by myself 

 in the summer of 1861, in equal parts 

 two-year-old rotted hops and two- 

 year-old road-sand from a macadam- 

 ized road, They are also very useful 

 as a mulching material in the summer 

 season for beds of asters, or similar 

 things that delight in moisture, and 

 in a medium into which they can pro- 

 duce abundance of roots. 



Stamford Sill. W. Ohitty. 



CULTIVATION OF YUCCAS. 



Yuccas are of easy culture, and very 

 important plants for the decoration 

 of the lawn. A chief item in their 

 cultivation is to exercise the necessary 

 patience while they are progressing 

 to perfection, as from the time the 

 suckers or offshoots are separated 

 from the mother plant, some four, 

 five, six, or seven years are necessary 

 for their development to perfect 

 plants. There are no plants that 

 serve to add richness and grace to a 

 nicely arranged lawn and pleasure- 

 ground more worthy of attention 

 than the Yucca superba, and its va- 

 rieties, gloriosa, incurva, recurva, and 

 others. Y. filamentosa is a beautiful 

 and useful plant, but more suitable 

 as a back plant in the herbaceous 

 border. Y, angustifolia is a beauti- 

 ful thing for a small lawn or flower- 

 garden, while its variegated form is 

 one of the most useful and stately 

 plants that can be introduced into a 

 cool greenhouse. There are many 

 other kinds, both hardy and frame 

 or cool greenhouse plants, but those 

 we have mentioned are the most use- 

 ful for general purposes. Perhaps 

 the handsomest plant for effect is the 



incurved variety of gloriosa; this is 

 really a noble plant, and when it has 

 obtained from 21 to 30 inches of 

 stem, surrounded by it3 noble crown 

 of broad, deep green, incurved leaves, 

 it forms quite a feature in the parterre 

 or on the lawn, and if growing in 

 groups of from five to nine or ten 

 plants, nothing can surpass the idea 

 of wealth and repose they contribute 

 — ideas which are invariably sug- 

 gested by a well-arranged and highly- 

 kept garden or pleasure-ground. 



]S ow we will say this is the begin- 

 ning of September, which is the best 

 time to take off the offshoots. Sepa- 

 rate them from the main stem by a 

 clean cut with a sharp knife ; place 

 three or four of them round the side 

 of a 32-pot, in a mixture of very 

 sandy peat and loam ; set them in a 

 cool frame, or in a greenhouse ; water 

 as they require it, and by the end of 

 June or beginning of July they will 

 have rooted sufficiently to pot off 

 into separate pots. Give them such 

 sized pots as they seem to require, 

 potting in the above mentioned soil, 

 this time with the addition of a sixth 

 of very rotten manure or leaf-mould ; 



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