THE FLORAL WORLD AND GARDEN GUIDE. 143 



planted out. la very favourable localities newly-rooted layers may be 

 planted out at once under a warm wall ; but two year's greenhouse cul- 

 ture is far preferable, and a saving of time in the end. They may a!so 

 be increased by means of well-ripened cuttings, taken off in autumn, and 

 potted in equal parts loam and peat. These are to be kept in a pit or 

 greenhouse, and never to be very wet or very dry all winter. In 

 February, plunge them in a bark-bed, or place them in a bed of cocoa- 

 nut fibre, over a tank, and they will soon form roots, and begin growing 

 at top. "When strong enough, cool them down, pot separately, and 

 put them in the greenhouse. With much coaxing and great care as to 

 shading and sprinkling, and avoiding excess of moisture, cuttings of the 

 young blind shoots may be struck under bell-glasses in July without the 

 aid of bottom-heat ; but the method is uncertain, which is not the case 

 with those just described. Lastly, cuttings of the roots put in in autumn, 

 and plunged in heat in February, will make good plants. Moderate- 

 sized specimens of the double-flowering kinds are best obtained by grafting 

 on single varieties. For all ordinary ornamental purposes grafted plants 

 are certainly the best. 



Species and Varieties . — Punica granatmn, the common pome- 

 granate, is a tree of vigorous habit, attaining, when favourably situated, 

 to a height of eighteen to twenty-five feet, and producing red flowers 

 and fruit in abundance. There are of this species many varieties, the 

 following being the most useful and in greatest request : — Albescens, 

 white flowers (really white and rose), tree less robust than the species - r 

 albascens flore pleno, double blush ; flaviim, yellow flowers, not very de- 

 sirable except in a large collection ; rubrvm fiore pleno, double red- 

 flowering. None of the varieties grow so vigorously as the species. 

 P. grcmatitm nana is very pretty, and is usually grown in the stove ; it 

 may, however, be grown in the greenhouse, if proper care is taken to 

 have the wood thoroughly well ripened in autumn. 



FERN-CASES. 



There can be no mystery as to the constantly increasing demand 

 for fern-cases, and the spread everywhere of the taste for fern-collecting 

 and fern-cultivating. Among the many fanciful pursuits to which I 

 have devoted myself, I know of none to compare with fern-growing for 

 a maximum of pleasures and advantages, and a minimum of pains and 

 penalties. To manage fern-cases requires constant watchfulness and 

 some amount of skill, unless they happen to be filled with plants of no 

 particular value and interest ; and for the very reason that they will not 

 take care of themselves, they are to be recommended as antidotes to 

 ennui, and talismans whereby to crowd our wakeful hours with ever-new 

 delights. A period of nineteen months has elapsed since I had a word 

 with you on this subject (see Floral "World, vol. v., p. 263), and 

 in the interim new experiences have been gained, and I seem almost to 

 have a new story to tell, and in fact the whole affair seems so new and 



