FEBRUARY. 63 



point, T am induced to give my reasons for saying they are hardy. 

 We have grown them for many years in our Nursery ; and our 

 whole collection, both of the early and late kinds, is annually 

 planted in the open ground. The early varieties, which are planted 

 in October and November, are left to take the chance of severe 

 winters without any protection whatever; and the loss of roots 

 from growing them in this way is of rare occurrence : they grow 

 vigorously and bloom freely. I am w'illing to admit that they may 

 be lost on soils of a heavy or retentive nature, like many other 

 hardy bulbs ; and I would advise all cultivators on such soils to 

 guard against this by proper attention to drainage and preparation 

 of beds, as I recommended last December. With regard to their 

 '* tendency to early growth," mj practice will be found to check 

 this to a considerable extent. Roots kept under glass before turning 

 out in the spring will necessarily be brought to maturity earlier than 

 those treated in a more natural way, inducing a habit to push into 

 growth before they are required for the next autumn planting. I 

 allow that " many of the varieties are in a growing state early in 

 November" under my natural mode of treatment ; but few are seen 

 above ground till after danger of frost is over. In cases where they 

 have not been taken up in the summer, and therefore made their 

 appearance very early, they have proved themselves quite hardy. 

 I w^ould recommend the writer at p. 14 to pursue my course with 

 those sorts which he considers tender, and I have no doubt he will 

 succeed. 



In the culture of bulbs, I consider it always desirable to treat 

 them as hardy where it can be done with safety, by which means a 

 more vigorous stock is kept up than when artificial means are resorted 

 to. By a more natural mode of cultivation an immense deal of time 

 is saved ; and the culture of an abundant tribe, like the Gladiolus, 

 can thus be carried on to a much greater extent. 



Stephen Brown. 



Seed and Horticultural Establishment, 

 Sudbury, Suffolk, Jan. 8, 1850. 



A FEW SELECT STOVE- CLIMBERS. 



[Continued from p. 28.] 



Combretum purpureum (now Poivrea coccinea) is a fine old stove- 

 creeper, introduced from Madagascar in 1818. It does well planted 

 in rich loam, peat, and leaf-soil, in a moist heat ; the flowers are 

 scarlet, and particularly handsome. It should be grown in a tolerably 

 high temperature. 



Ipomcea Learii cannot be too highly spoken of as a stove-creeper; 

 it is familiar to most ; but how often do we hear complaints of its 

 being a shy bloomer ! With me it has proved quite the reverse ; for 



