140 THE FLORIST AND POMOLOGIST. [Jitnk, 



flowers equal to the same variety grown in the conservatory, but this is 

 exceptional. 



I do not advocate planting out the very delicate and choice varieties, as the 

 flowering seasons are so very uncertain ; on the contrary, the very commonest 

 sorts, provided they have a strong and robust habit, are by far the best to plant. 

 Several fine plants here, are of the old single red kind, others are seedling plants 

 which have not been considered worthy of pot culture, and these have the 

 hardiest constitutions. Moreover, when we have any old or sickly-looking plants 

 in pots, we never throw them away, but plant them in some odd corner either in 

 the shrubbery or against a wall, where, while some will gradually die away, others 

 take to growing, and eventually make nice plants. Some have been upwards of 

 twenty years in the same place, and have scarcely at all increased in size, but 

 year after year expend their vitality in the production of flower-buds. 



The Camellia is not easily killed under pot culture. Its greatest enemy is a 

 sour and waterlogged soil, yet it is astonishing how long a plant will live in such 

 a soil without flourishing. Water, however, and that in great abundance, is an 

 absolute necessity, but the soil and drainage must be of such a nature as to let 

 the superabundance pass freely away, leaving the soil sufficiently saturated 

 without inducing sourness. This should be a guide to the formation of a com- 

 post. I advocate equal parts of tough fibry peat and strong fibry loam, to be 

 used in as lumpy and rough a state as possible. Stimulation during growth is 

 necessary, but should be applied from the surface ; no stimulating materials 

 should be mixed with the compost. 



Bedleaf. John Cox. 



DEUTZIAS AS DECORATIVE PLANTS. 

 IEAUTIFUL and easily grown, the Deutzias (gracilis and crenata flore- 

 pleno) are so useful for decorative purposes that no place should be with- 

 out a good stock of plants. They are readily forced into bloom, and by 

 putting a few at a time into heat a regular succession of flowers may be 

 had from January till June. For conservatory decoration they are invaluable in 

 the winter and early spring months, as there is something so charming about their 

 fresh-born leaves, and delicate flowers, at that season. They are readily increased 

 by cuttings of the half -ripened wood planted in sandy soil, and placed in a cucumber 

 or melon frame where there is a little bottom heat. The present is a good time 

 to put in cuttings. "When rooted, they should be potted off and placed in frames 

 until they begin to make fresh roots, when they may be placed in the open air. 

 As soon as they begin to grow they should be stopped ; this will cause the bottom 

 buds to break. When the pots get tolerably well filled with roots, they should 

 be shifted into larger pots. They will grow in any fight, rich soil, but a mixture 

 of loam, leaf soil, and sand suits them admirably. As the plants grow, they 

 should be frequently stopped, so that they may become well furnished. 



