208 



THE FLORAL WORLD AND GARDEN GUIDE. 



to be preferred, and get ready to make up 

 new beds. Old plants still in vigour must 

 Lave tbe help of linings, and be covered 

 with mats at night. Beware of mildew, 

 which if it once appears remove the affected 

 leaves and give the plants a sprinkling of 

 sulphur. 



Melons. — If any difficulty in getting 

 the fruit to ripen, the following plan may 

 be adopted : — Cut the fruit with as much 

 stalk attached as possible ; place them on 

 shallow cups or any convenient vessels, 

 with about a glass of wine in the vessel, 

 and the stalk of the fruit dipping into it. 

 The hottest part of a lean-to house will be 

 the proper place to ripen them off ; the 

 wine will be absorbed, and the flavour of 

 the flesh improved ; and a few days' sun- 

 shine will ripen them perfectly. 



Mushrooms.— Prepare the bed for win- 

 ter supply. The first thing to be done is 

 to collect plenty of short unfermented dung, 

 or if only long dung can be had, pick out 

 the long straw and lay it in small heaps 

 to ferment gently, and turn it every three 

 or four days till it produces only a gentle 

 heat, then make up the bed. A dry dark 

 shed is as good a place as any, but a better 

 crop ami a larger supply may be insured 

 where the beds can be made over a warm 

 chamber. 



Fines.— Repot the young stock struck 

 during the summer, and plunge in a brisk 

 heat ; suckers on old stools to be taken off 

 and potted singly, and plunged at once ; 

 they will root immediately. Give as much 

 air as possible while fine weather continues. 

 Pines ripening their fruit must be kept 

 warm, and have less water. Be careful 

 how you give water now, and keep up the 

 heat in the succession pit. 



Greenhouse Plants [in Flower. — 

 Adesmia viscosa. — An interesting fabace- 

 ous shrub with yellow flowers, and the 

 habit inclined to be trailing. Treat the 

 same as the last named. 



Angophora cordifolia. — A blue-flower- 

 ing myrtaceous shrub from New Holland, 

 requiring the same treatment as any of the 

 tenderer species of myrtle. 



Anisomeles f areata. — A pretty ever- 

 green under-shrub, with blue labiate blos- 

 soms, easily grown and interesting. 



Arctotis decumbens. — This genus has 

 long been neglected, though deserving 

 every attention. It would pay any of the 

 trade now to collect them, and determine 

 their several values for bedding, etc., for 

 which we feel convinced there are many 

 most suitable. They are all worth pot 

 culture, and we believe that A. grandiflora 

 will hereafter supersede Gazania splendens. 

 Seed of several species is entered in the 



catalogue, and that will be the easiest way 

 of getting up a stock of the kinds that can 

 be got that way. 



BcEcTcia virgata. — A pretty myrtaceous 

 New Holland shrub, with white flowers, 

 requiring the usual treatment of New Hol- 

 land plants. 



Sanksia erieifolia and speciosa. — In- 

 teresting New Holland plants, worthy of a 

 place in every greenhouse. They belong 

 to the natural order of Proteads, and both 

 have yellow flowers. The grower of these 

 is strongly advised to have nothing to do 

 with grafted plants ; they can all be ob- 

 tained on their own roots by any one who 

 can propagate ericas, and by the same 

 method. Grow in sandy peat, with a fifth 

 part turfy loam. Young plants are apt to 

 damp off at the collar, and in potting it is 

 necessary to put half an inch of silver-sand 

 on the top of the soil in the pots. 



JBanksia verticillata. — The Banksias 

 are all fine plants, and a few of them should 

 be found in every good collection. They 

 belong to the order of Proteads, from which 

 we derive many of our most valuable con- 

 servatory plants. The smaller species re- 

 quire to be grown in peat only, the more 

 robust need the addition of about a third of 

 turfy loam. They can all be propagated 

 from cuttings, but it is a tedious job, and 

 should be undertaken only by those who 

 can propagate ericas and epacrises. The 

 species now under notice grows to a height 

 of twelve feet, and bears yellow flowers. 



Bignonia jasminoides and venusta. — 

 The first is white flowered and a capital 

 subject for the rafters of a greenhouse, for 

 people who can wait with patience for a 

 good thing. Planted out in a free border 

 of loam, in a cool stove or greenhouse, and 

 the wood well ripened every year, it may 

 always be depended upon for abundance of 

 bloom. The flowers are produced on the 

 previous year's wood. Venusta is a beau- 

 tiful orange-flowered species for pot culture 

 in the stove. 



B'dlardiera scandens (Sollya scandens). 

 — This fine evergreen climber is now in full 

 beauty with its purple blossoms. Soil, 

 loam and peat ; winter temperature, 45°. 

 The other most desirable species are longi- 

 flora, crimson, paviflora, blue, and muta- 

 bilis. 



Borlonia cordata.— This is one of the 

 smallest of the genus, and one of the pret- 

 tiest. It grows two feet high, forms a neat 

 shrub, and produces its yellow fabaceous 

 flowers in plenty. Treat the same as Hovea 

 and Templetonia. Soil, peat and loam, 

 plenty of drainage ; winter temperature 45°. 



Dioncea mttscipula. — This is a good sub- 

 ject to test a gardener's skill, and is likely 



