AUGUST. 207 



tender greenness and budding blooms ; summer spreads the earth 

 with sparkling gems and more than Tyrian dyes ; and autumn 

 combines use with beauty in golden corn-fields and luscious fruits. 

 In all this, man is not treated as a machine, or a slave, or a criminal, 

 but as a favourite child whom the Parent dehghts to please ; and the 

 culture of fiowers is thus eminently adapted to satisfy the wants of 

 our moral nature, and to assure us, concurrently with other intima- 

 tions, that God affectionately regards and cares for us. 



Henry Burgess. 



LISIANTHUS RUSSELLIANUS. 



This most beautiful plant was introduced into this country long ago 

 from Mexico ; but notwithstanding that cultivators have had time 

 enough to make themselves acquainted with its habits, it is only now 

 and then that one sees a well-grown specimen of it. Mr. Green, 

 however, shewed at the last meeting of the Horticultural Society a 

 magnificent example of what this fine plant really is under proper 

 treatment ; and as he has given his experience in regard to its man- 

 agement in a late number of the Journal of the Horticultural Society, 

 we have thought it advisable to extract the substance of it here for 

 the benefit of our readers. 



He says : " I sow early in spring. I first fill a 6-inch pot half 

 full of potsherds, over which I place one inch of sphagnum moss ; I 

 then fill the pot within one inch of the top with rich light sandy soil. 

 "When all is pressed down equal and firm, and a smooth surface made 

 with the bottom of a small pot, I sow the seed, and cover it very 

 slightly with dry white sand. I cover the pots with bell-glasses, 

 and place them on a shelf in a shady part of an early vinery, keeping 

 the surface constantly moist by pouring water on the outside of the 

 glasses. As soon as the plants have come up, air is admitted, and 

 increased as they advance in growth. When sufficiently strong, 

 they are pricked out into small pots, having the same drainage, moss, 

 and mixture as the seed -pots, and are again shaded with hand or 

 bell-glasses until the plants become estabhshed. In three weeks or 

 a month they require to be potted off singly into small pots ; and I 

 encourage their growth as much as possible by placing them in a 

 shady part of either a vinery or melon-pit, whichever is kept at the 

 highest temperature, with a humid atmosphere. As soon as they 

 begin to fill their pots with roots, I give them once a week a little 

 clarified manure-water. 



I repot into winter pots about the middle of August, using pots 

 to suit the size of the plants, and replace them in the same grow- 

 ing temperature as before, till their pots are filled with roots. After 

 this I begin to prepare them for winter by giving them less moisture, 

 more air, and a cooler temperature ; and finally they are placed on a 

 shelf near the glass, in the coolest part of the stove, and wintered 

 rather dry. Early in February I begin to increase the heat and 

 moisture ; and as soon as they begin to grow freely, I repot them, 



