THE FLORAL WORLD AND GARDEN GUIDE. 



63 



Berkheya cuneata. — A pretty Cape 

 evergreen shrub, useful now for its yellow 

 composite flowers. They are not particular 

 about soil so long as it is sandy, and to 

 bloom now should have been in an inter- 

 mediate house since January. 



Boronia laUfolia. — This, and B. ser- 

 rulata and B. pinnata, are truly fine plants, 

 and the three are worthy of a place, as 

 they are very different in flower and foliage 

 from each other. They require much care, 

 and are quite unfit for the collections of 

 amateurs who are much away from home, 

 or for gardeners who have many various 

 duties. The soil should be peat and turfy 

 loam without dung, and the greatest atten- 

 tion must be paid to the watering, as, if 

 water is given when not needed or in ex- 

 cess, the plant will be likely to rot at the 

 collar. These require the same temperature 

 asBossirea, with a little extra heat inspring. 

 They belong to the family of Rue-worts. 



Bossicea ovata, tenuicaulis, and cordi- 

 folia. — These are not much valued, and, 

 though we have ourselves always consi- 

 dered them essential in a collection of 

 New Holland shrubs, we cannot bestow 

 upon them any high praise or venture to 

 describe them as invaluable. They are, 

 however, interesting, and will he most 

 prized where they can be grown with 

 heaths, as they require the same treatment 

 as to soil, drainage, etc., but a warmer 

 atmosphere. They will not bear a much 

 lower temperature than 4CP in winter, and 

 require a range of from 6CP to 70' during 

 summer. To grow good specimens they 

 must be frequently stopped. Their pea- 

 shaped blossoms are abundantly produced 

 if the wood is well ripened and the drainage 

 kept open by the use of turfy peat, with a 

 considerable proportion of nodules of char- 

 coal intermixed. 



Callistemon phoiniceum, and mycro- 

 staclu/um. — These beautiful myrtaceous 

 shrubs are highly prized for their graceful 

 long scarlet stamens, and when well grown 

 are of the highest value for the conserva- 

 tory and drawing-room table. The same 

 treatment as described for Boronia will 

 suit them, and, like Boronias, they do 

 well with heaths, but require rather more 

 warmth than is generally allowed to 

 Ericas. 



Cantua dependens and hicolor. — These 

 are shy and fitful, and sometimes refuse to 

 hloom under treatment which the previous 

 season was most successful. The soil 

 should be peat and loam, and a few 

 young plants should be raised every season 

 so as to allow of the starving of a few old 

 plants into bloom, and replacing them if 

 after they are not thought worth repotting. 



From this time the plants should be en- 

 couraged to grow in an intermediate house 

 or the warmest end of the greenhouse. 

 Those we have in bloom now were kept 

 dry and cool till the end of January, 

 then placed with camellias and azaleas, 

 and the flowers come abundantly at the 

 points of the shoots. We think the reason 

 of its occasional failing to hloom is the 

 insufficient ripening of the wood the pre- 

 vious autumn. Keep it growing all sum- 

 mer, and from the first week in August 

 begin to dry it, and expose it to the full 

 sun. When housed to be kept nearly dry, 

 and at a temperature not higher than 40' 

 all winter, till again started for flower. 



Chorozema Jfava, scamlens, and varia. 

 — There are no New Holland plants more 

 worthy of general culture than the choro- 

 zemas ; they are all beautiful, and will 

 repay for every care and attention be- 

 stowed upon them. The proper soil for 

 them is lumpy peat with plenty of fibre 

 in it, and an addition of sand and small 

 charcoal to keep it open and porous. 

 These plants never root deep ; therefore 

 wide shallow pots suit them best, as they 

 like to root near the surface. The plants 

 are dormant all autumn and winter, and 

 then require very little water, and in start- 

 ing them into growth at the turn of the 

 year great caution should be used in water- 

 ing. They are moderately hardy, and may 

 be kept in any ordinary greenhouse with 

 safety, provided the rocts are nearly dry. 

 To ensure plenty of bloom in spring it is 

 only necessary to have the wood thoroughly 

 well ripened the previous autumn. Reds 

 and yellows are the predominating colours 

 in these pretty papilionaceous flowers, and 

 the plants may be used in the same way 

 as Leschenhaultias in grouping where light 

 and graceful forms are requisite. Choro- 

 zema scandens is a beautiful plant to train 

 on a dwarf trellis in a six or eight inch pot, 

 DctiMe-Jlmcerivff Beach. — There are 

 now so many varieties of peach and plum 

 with double hlossoms that a very large 

 selection may be made, either for ordinary 

 conservatory work, to give variety among 

 hyacinths, camellias, and azaleas, or for 

 the orchard-house, to add to the gaiety of 

 the scene while the fruiting trees are in 

 bloom. All these double-flowering kinds 

 are as hardy as fruit-producing peaches, 

 but take forcing much more kindly, as a 

 fair expansion of their blossoms is all that 

 is required of them. 



Mibbertia fexuosa. — The Hibhertias 

 are not very showy, but useful for hanging 

 baskets. H. grossularia;folia is the best 

 for general purposes. 



Jlovea purpurea. — This and H. ilici- 



