1873.] NOTES ON GREENHOUSE SHRUBS. 399 



are B. Drummondii, pinnata, tetrandra, anemonoefolia, and serrulata ; 

 and of these, were I confined to a selection of two, I would prefer tlie 

 first and the last. They like good sandy peat, with which- a little 

 sandy fibrous loam may be mixed, and thorough drainage. Greenhouse 

 temperature and general conditions suit them well; but in spring, when 

 making growth, they will bear, and be the better for, a temperature 

 intermediate between the greenhouse and the stove. After growth is 

 made, they should be placed in a cooler place to mature. In winter 

 the minimum temperature should not be lower than 45°; and consider- 

 able care in watering during the dull days of winter is requisite. Cut- 

 tings of partially-ripened shoots root freely in sandy peat in a cool 

 propagating-house under a bell-glass, which should not be kept too 

 close. They should not be hastened in any way, being rather slow to 

 root ; nothing is gained by pushing them with heat. When rooted, 

 there should be no hurry to pot them off; the roots are easily broken 

 when handled very soon after they have been formed. Large shifts 

 ought always to be avoided with these as with nearly all hard-wooded 

 plants of slow growth. Staking, though often practised, is both un- 

 necessary and an evil. Plants so compact naturally require only a little 

 attention to stopping in their first stages of growth annually, to make 

 them all that can be desired by true art. 



Bosskea. — A genus of dwarf Pea flowering shrubs from New Hol- 

 land chiefly. They are all greenhouse plants, flowering in early sum- 

 mer mainly, though there are several that flower in autumn. They 

 are free-flowering plants for the most part ; but this quality depends 

 very much upon management in all cases. If the wood is not thorough- 

 ly ripened the previous autumn, not much profusion of bloom may be 

 expected. In order the better to ripen the wood, as soon as the growth 

 has begun to harden about midsummer, the plants should be placed in 

 a position out of doors where they will be freely exposed to light and 

 air. Early in autumn let them be removed indoors, or put in a cold 

 frame, where the lights can be put on to prevent them being saturated 

 at the roots with the rains. Abundant ventilation is necessary at all 

 seasons while the weather is mild, but the temj^erature should not be 

 allowed to fall below 45° minimum in winter. Peat and loam in 

 nearly equal proportions, and of the best quality, light and fibrous, and 

 rendered porous with a free mixture of gritty sand, form an excellent 

 compost for them. Small shifts only are advisable. Propagate by seeds, 

 which require to be steeped in water for some hours before sowing — 

 they will germinate more quickly after steeping ; also by cuttings of 

 half -ripened wood put in sandy compost in a cool j^ropagating-house 

 under a bell-glass. Being rather apt to damp, the glass should be 

 tilted a little on one side after the first two or three days are over. 



