88 THE FLORIST AND P0M0L0GI3T. [April. 



further alluded to ; from wliicli it may be concluded tliat as a " foliage" plant 

 its pretensions are ail. In early summer it sends up its dense tufty-headed 

 bloom-spikes, elevated on stalks some eight or nine inches long ; these gradually 

 unfold their rosy-tinted calyces, which are covered with long white hairs, soften- 

 ing down their tint, and giving an indescribable beauty combined with elegance 

 and lightness to each spike. To my fancy, had not the name " Love in a Mist " 

 been already appropriated, it would have been the very name for our plant. 

 These flowers are produced about May, and in a dry situation, on a shelf near the 

 glass, the plants continue in their full beauty till October, being admired by 

 every one who sees them on account of their marked peculiarity of character. 



My readers will, I think, admit that I have made out a good case on behalf 

 of the more general culture of the TncJiiniuni. It has, however, a still further 

 recommendation. In one of those really elegant and beautiful bouquets of diied 

 flowers and grasses, in which nature is to no small extent indebted to art for the 

 brilliancy of its colours, I saw, a few weeks ago, two of the spikes which I have 

 endeavoured to describe inserted, just as taken from the plant, perfectly dry, and 

 to all intents " everlasting ;" they added a charm to the whole group, much the 

 same as a Bird of Paradise would impart to a case of highly-coloui-ed stuffed birds 

 — the charm of elegance, brightness, grace, and beauty. As the spike dries, it 

 almost doubles in size by the reflexing of its lower flowers, and then, and then 

 only, is it to be seen in its full and unfading beauty. 



The question will readily suggest itself — Why is a plant so beautiful not 

 more generally met with ? There are, I think, several reasons to account for 

 this. The first is, that when first introduced by our indefatigable friend, Mr. 

 Thompson, of Ipswich, it was assumed to be a hardy plant ; this, however, it is 

 not. Coming from "Western Australia, it is not only tender, but very impatient 

 of damp, in the winter time especially ; and I know many instances in which it 

 was planted out either in a border or rockery, and as a matter of course, dis- 

 appeared, without blooming, the first winter. The second reason is, that it 

 rarely ripens seed — never has it done so with me, and hence one means of rapid 

 increase is lost. A third reason is, that during winter it often loses all signs of 

 growth, in fact, rots at the crown, and doubtless has often been thrown away as 

 dead, whereas its roots retain life almost as tenaciously as its flowers retain their 

 beauty, and had the principle of faith been more largely exercised by the cultivator, 

 he would have been rewarded by a growth of buds coming from the roots. 

 Herein is the secret of its increase — by root-cuttings. I have only to-day 

 (Febriiary 20) divided my plant into half-a-dozen root divisions, each one having 

 a growing bud, and from these I hope to obtain, and doubtless shall succeed, a 

 continuation of bloom all the summer through. As I before said, the nearer to 

 the glass it is kept the better, and it must not be over-watered. In its early 

 blooming stage, it is, as a button-hole flower, perfection itself, when backed up 

 by a small leaf of the charming bright-green Meum aihamanticum, a plant, by the 

 way, that ought to be cultivated in every garden for this special purpose. 



