142 THE FLORAL WORLD AND GARDEN GUIDE. 



it is not in great repute, but it is wortli a place in a large col- 

 lection. 



riorida is a native of China, and is largely cultivated in Japan 

 and the East Indies. This is a fine shrub, growing to a height 

 of six feet ; the flowers are white and very fragrant. There is a 

 variety with double flowers nearly as large as a rose. This is one 

 of the most desirable species, and worth all the care it requires to 

 grow it successfully. It is, however, inferior to G. radicans, as it 

 grows taller, is scarcely so profuse in bloom, and does not last so long. 

 This is a diflicult species to propagate, and we shall therefore give 

 special directions for its increase. Early in April the plants ought to be 

 full of young shoots, from which cuttings may be taken. First prepare 

 some five-inch pots by half filling them with potsherds and then filling 

 to the rim with a mixture of equal parts of peat and silver sand, broken 

 up and blended together with the laand. Press this firm, and make it 

 moderately moist. Prepare the cuttings by taking ofi" the tips of the 

 young half-ripe shoots an inch and a half long, cut them immediately 

 below a joint and remove the lower leaves, then insert thera. Jirmli/ an 

 inch deep and an inch apart, the outside row next the side of the pot, 

 give them a sprinkle and place the pots on a sweet hot-bed and shut them 

 up and shade. If kept moderately moist and shaded they will be well 

 rooted in the course of three weeks, when they must have air by degrees 

 for a week, and then be potted separately. Pot them in sixty-sized pots 

 with plenty of drainage, and the soil equal parts of peat, turfy loam, and 

 silver sand. Water them and place them again on a moist heat and 

 shade for a week, by which time they will have begun to grow and may 

 have more light, but must still be shaded at midday and have a little air. 

 By the end of June they will be fine plants and will require a shift. 

 Pot them in forty-eight sized pots, using peat and loam one part each, 

 and a half part each of leaf and sand. The pots must be well drained 

 and the j^lants must be potted ^/?«. Plunge them again in a brisk bottom- 

 heat and shut close for a few days, then give light and air by degrees, and 

 they will soon begin to show their flower-buds. The appearance of these 

 will be the signal for removing them to the greenhouse, where they may 

 remain in a temperature averaging 45^, till it is desired to bring them into 

 flower. To bloom them proceed as before directed, placing them on a bed 

 of fermenting material, syringe frequently and give no air. If they are 

 not in full vigour help them with manure water, made by steeping sheep's 

 dung in a tub, use this clear, weak, and warm. As soon as the flowers 

 open remove to a warm greenhouse, where they will continue in bloom 

 several weeks. After flowering prune, repot, and place again in heat. 



Padicans, native of Japan, growing two feet high, is invaluable for 

 its free-flowering dwarf habit and the ease with which it may be propa- 

 gated and flowered. It is grown by thousands for the market on the plan 

 already described for the management of other species in a dung-bed, 

 where it is as much at home as in the best stove. The best season to 

 propagate this is October, and the process is the same as just described. 

 One reason why this has become so popular as a market plant is, that 

 cuttings struck in autumn, and then shifted into sixty-sized pots and 

 pushed on in dung-heat the following spring, flower freely, and so bring a 

 return in less than six months. The amateur will have no difficulty in 

 growing this if the rules already laid down are carefully observed, the 



