3U THE GARDENER. [Aug. 



proportions. Plant one pot in the centre of eacli pit, and cover witli 

 a hand-glass, and keep them well watered should the weather be dry. 

 As soon as they begin to grow freely the glasses can be removed, and 

 the Spinach will soon cover the whole surface of the ground with a 

 luxuriant growth. This variety often gets destroyed with frost before 

 the August sowings of the Prickly are fit for use, and it is a good plan 

 to sow a large sowing of the Prickly about the middle of July, to fill 

 up the gap that may be occasioned. New Zealand Spinach is much 

 better than the perennial, and ought to be more generally cultivated 

 than it is. The perennial variety may be sown outdoors in April. 

 Some sow it in heat, and then transplant it j but unless it be in very 

 cold places, it does very well sown out doors. D. T. 



NOTES Olsr AUTUMN AND WINTER 

 FLOWERING PLANTS. 



{Continued from page 312. ) 



EPIPHYLLUMS. 



We find Epiphyllums very useful, there being so many varieties, several 

 of which flower much earlier than others. When groAvn on stems about 

 18 inches high in 6-inch pots, nothing looks handsomer when 

 placed in a nice vase as a single plant for dinner-table decoration. We 

 also find that grown on the Pereskia stock they stand cool treatment 

 better than on the grandiflora ; the latter will make large plants more 

 quickly, but they require stove temperature to keep them in good health. 

 When done blooming, have the required number of pots, if not new, 

 washed clean, and well and carefully drained to one-fourth their depth, 

 sprinkling a little moss over the crocks to keep the soil from getting 

 amongst them and stopping the free passage of the water. Although 

 they delight in plenty of water when growing, if the soil gets soured 

 by its not passing freely through, they soon begin to show signs of it 

 by a yellow sickly appearance. The soil we find them do well in is a 

 mixture of good fibry loam, a little peat with a good quantity of cow- 

 dung which has been laid up for some time, adding a little sand and 

 charcoal the size of beans. Those plants that require a larger pot get 

 one a size larger than the one they came out of ; but if not very well 

 rooted, a little of the soil round the outside of the ball is carefully 

 taken away, and they put into the same size again. When all are 

 shifted, look to the staking of each, as the heads, being so heavy, if 

 not properly fastened, are apt to break off at the top of the pot. Then 

 place them in a temperature of 65° by night, where they can have a 



