THE FLORAL WORLD AND GARDEN GUIDE. 



183 



shut up over a gentle bottom-beat. As we 

 are not now using dung beat, we sball put a 

 small frame over a heap of grass mowings, 

 mixed with dry litter, winch will afford 

 enough heat to start them, and keep them 

 going till new beds are made up. But 

 beware of grass mowings alone, unless 

 cooking and not growing is the object. 

 One-half dry litter, and the other half 

 mowings shaken over, will produce a 

 steady, lasting heat, of great value at this 

 time of year when it is not generally con- 

 venient or desirable to have dung wheeled 

 in. 



Melons need a brisk bottom-heat to 

 ripen the fruit, and to be kept rather dry. 

 Those swelling fruit to be encouraged with 

 a lining, and a moderate amount of atmo- 

 spheric moisture. Keep the vines regu- 

 larly trained, so that the leaves are ex- 

 posed to light, as wherever they are at 

 all crowded, the fruit will be found to 

 damp off. 



Pines to be encouraged with heat and 

 moisture. Young stock to be aired freely, 

 to get them strong; fruiting plants to be 

 refreshed by frequent sprinkling of the 

 beds and plunging material; as they begin 

 to ripen, keep them drier. As soon as 

 fruit is cut, earth up the stools, and give 

 extra heat. Plants now coming into fruit 

 to be pushed on, so as to ripeu at the end 

 of September and beginning of October, 

 when most of the summer fruits are 

 scarce. 



Pines swelling their fruit to have fre- 

 quent supplies of liquid manure, and 

 abundance of atmospheric moisture. Young 

 plants to stand the winter, for fruiting 

 early next year, had best be removed from 

 those swelling fruit, so as to keep them 

 drier and more freely ventilated. 



Greenhouse Plants in Flower. 

 Adamia versicolor. — A pretty blue-flowered 

 greenhouse evergreen shrub of the order 

 of Saxifrages, easily grown in peat and 

 loam. 



Abronia pulchella and mellifera. — 

 These nyctagineous plants are deserving of 

 greater cultivation than they have in 

 our gardens, as they are well adapted to 

 plant out on mounds and rockeries, where 

 they trail and flower in a style resembling 

 the verbena. The first-named produces 

 pink flowers, the second orange. The best 

 for bedding out is A. umbellata, with pink 

 flowers. They are of no use in rich soil, 

 and should always be grown in a mixture 

 of peat and leaf, with a little sand. 



Acmadenia ietragonia. — A useful rue- 

 wort, allied to Diosma, from the Cape, 

 botanically distinguished by the anthers 

 having glands. The flowers are white, and 



the 'plant shrubby and neat. Grow it in 

 turfy peat, or well-rotted meadow turf, and 

 a fifth part sand. 



Acronychia Cunninghami. — A magnifi- 

 cent tree, from Moreton Bay, resembling 

 the orange in the sweet scent of its white 

 blossoms, and related to it botanically. It 

 is one of the best subjects for specimen 

 culture, and may be wintered in a tem- 

 perature averaging not lower than 40'. 

 Soil, sandy loam and peat ; no manure to 

 touch the roots, but, to give extra vigour, 

 may be top-dressed with rotten dung in 

 May. 



Actinotus helianthi. — This New Hol- 

 land sunflower is a greenhouse herbaceous 

 perennial, not in very high repute. It is 

 useful, however, now, as the houses con- 

 tain but few flowers of similar form and 

 colour. It is an umbelliferous, not a com- 

 posite plant. Soil, loam and peat ; and 

 warm greenhouse temperature all the 

 winter. 



Adenandra fragrans. — A great fa- 

 vourite for the conservatory, and one of 

 the best of the genus. It is a rutaceou3 

 shrub from the Cape, requiring the same 

 treatment as a Cape heath. 



Adesmia viscosa. — This fine fabaceous 

 shrub is of slender habit and free growth, 

 and may be trained up a trellis on a back 

 wall to a height of twelve or fifteen feet, 

 which it will cover with its yellow blos- 

 soms. A free border of turfy loam and 

 peat suits it best ; and, like the others of 

 its class, is very nearly hardy. 



Aloe depressa, dislans, and saponaria. 

 — The first has orange -coloured, and the 

 other two red flowers, and they are among 

 the best of the genus for greenhouse cul- 

 ture ; and though in a mixed collection 

 we should never expect to see many of 

 this tribe, a few give variety ; and if they 

 rarely bloom, their distinct forms are 

 always interesting. These, and other 

 allied succulents, such as Gasterias, Ha- 

 worthias, etc., with Mesembryanthemums 

 and Cacti, are all easily grown and propa- 

 gated ; and to ensure a plentiful bloom 

 they must have perfect rest all winter, and 

 be liberally grown all summer. The pots 

 should be drained with extra care ; the 

 soil one-half broken bricks and nodules of 

 old mortar ; the other half to be equal 

 quantities of turf, peat, rotten dung, and 

 sharp sand, or finest siftings from gravel. 

 When in free growth, and enjoying plenty 

 of sun-heat, assist them with liquid 

 manure. 



Alona obtusa and rostrata. — These 

 pretty Chilian shrubs produce their large 

 blue flowers in plenty now, and are useful 

 for their colour and gay appearance. The 



