Ai)ril U, 1S72. ] 



JOUKNAL OF ilOliTlCULTUKE AND COTTACJE Ci.UiDENEK. 



333 



have been limited to juat arouud Liverfjool aud Birkenhead, 

 \vherea.s a little further inland, in more sheltered situations, 

 the plants may have put forth their blossoms earlier in the 

 season. Last year, up to the 1st of March, not more than 

 three or four plants were to be seen in flower in this neigh- 

 bourhood ; but this year quite a goodly number gladdened the 

 eye in what, as a rule, is the windy and diy month of March. 



I annex a note of the plants I observed in bloom in the 

 neighbourhood of Abergele, Denbighshire, whilst there for a 

 day on the 2yth of March. — Kobkbt Brown. 



Feb. H. Seuecio vulg 



Bcliis pereniiis 

 TussiJayo Farfai-a 

 Capsella Bursa-pasturis 

 Stellaria media 

 Chiysanthemum ino'Ion 

 Cerastitim triviale 

 Ulex europaeus 



Euphorbia Hclioscopia 

 Anagallis anensis 



-Ethusa Cynapium 

 , Veronica heder.efolia 



Brassica polymorpha 

 , Taraxacum officinale 



Cardamiue hii-siita 

 . Chrysospleaiura oppobi 

 folium 



Poteutilla Fi-agai-iastrun 



Adoxa Moschatellina 



Kanunculua Ficaria 



Stacliys arveiisia 



Euphorbia PepUs 



March 1(5. Spcrijula arveusis 

 Alchcmiila arvensis 

 Lamium piu-pureum 

 Eriophorum au:-,'ustifoliam 

 Alopecurus prateusis 

 XiUZula campestris 



pUosa 

 Anemone nemorosa 

 Primula vulgaris 

 Hedera Helii 



Corjius Avellana 

 17. Plautago lanceolata 



Rumex Acetosella 



Geranium moUe 

 liJ. Prunus spinosa 



Saiifra?;a tri dactylites 



Stellaria Hoiostea 



Lychnis diuma 

 24. Arabis Thahana 



Stellaria graminca 

 April G. Primula caulescens 



Erj-timimi AUiaria 



Primus institia 

 7. Eqtusetum aiTense 



16. Viola 



Plants ix Flowi;k xeai; Abekgele, March 29tu. 

 -Vuthriscus .sylvestrie 

 Stellaria media 

 HouchuH oleracous 

 Bellis perennis 

 Tussila,'0 Farfaiu 

 Cerastium glumeratiim 

 Gerouinm moUe 

 Cochleai*ia officinaUs 

 Capsella Bursa- pastor is 

 I Euzula campestris 



I Medicago lapulina 



Prunus spinosa 

 Braba verna 

 Ulcx europjEUs 

 Cerastium trivi.!'-" 

 Adoxa Moschatclliua 

 Viola sylvatica 

 Kibes Grossuiaiia 

 Corylus Avellana 

 I'lmus campestris 

 Arenaria tiinervis 

 Clirysospleuium oppo^itifoliimi 

 Stellaria Holostea 

 Ranunculus s 

 i Cultha palustris 



' RanuncUus repens 



I hoderjtfolia 

 1 ofli finale 

 Brassica polymorpha 

 Planta^;o lanceolata 

 Seneeio vulgaris 

 Poa annua 

 Euphorbia Paralias 

 Chirsauthemum inudu, 

 t'ardamine hu'suta 

 Primula veils 

 Lamimn purpmeum 

 Ranunculus Ficaria 

 Hedera Helix 

 Saxifi-a5;a ti-idactylites 

 Putentiila Fragariastrii 

 Ncpeta Glechoma 

 Veronica agiestis 

 Geranium Robertianim 

 Alcheniilla arveusis 

 Mercuriahs perennis 

 Primula vulgaris 



Lamium i 

 Anemone i 

 C'ardaminc pratensis 

 Euphorbia Hehoocjpia 



GREENHOUSE PLANTS.— No. 9. 



Ei'Acins. — This is a geuiis of winter and early-spiing-flower- 

 iiig plants, very desirable for decorative purposes and for cut 

 liowers ; those of the Epacris will bear a journey of three hun- 

 dred miles better than many others. The plants are of easy 

 i;ulturc, rei[iuiin;,' only a light airy house for their growth. 

 They are not half so apt to die off as some would lead us to 

 believe. My accommodation for hardwooded plants is not 

 great ; in fact all the subjects that I have included, or shall 

 include, under the head of greenhouse plants are gro^vn in an 

 ordinary house, light aud well ventilated, with the as.sistance 

 of a few pits. I consider the aid of pits essential for furnish- 

 ing a greenhouse or conservatoiy. 



I will presume that the plants are obtained in 4J or G-iuch 

 pots during March or April, or in September. At the latter 

 period, of course, we secure them in bloom the first season. 

 Their flowering will be over by the middle of .A^pril ; they 

 should then be pruned aud carefully watered for a time, or 

 until they are growing freely. I usually remove my Epacrises 

 to a pit after pruning. When the bloom is past I remove all 

 the decayed flowers and any seed-vessels, and cut back the 

 strong shoots to within 2 inches of theii" origin from the two- 

 year-old wood, but the small twiggy shoots of not more than 

 a couple of inches in length are not interfered with. Shoots 

 of this description ought to be encouraged to as great an extent 

 as possible by checking the growth of the strong shoots by 

 frequent stopping. 



When removed to the pit — say at the end of April — the 



plants are kept just moist, but a gjj-l supply of water is 

 afforded before they are affected by dryness. Any potting 

 is best done when the shoots are about an inch long. Turn- 

 ing the plants out of the pots, remove the drainage carefully, 

 and loosen the sides of the ball with a pointed piece of wood. 

 The pots should be well drained to one-fourth of their depth ; 

 place a large crock over the hole, then some rather large pieces, 

 and finish off with small. Over the drainage I consider half 

 au inch of charcoal that vnR passtlu'ough a three-ijuai'ter-inch, 

 and not a quarter-inch, sieve are excellent. The soil may con- 

 sist of three parts sandy fibrous brown peat chopped up very 

 small (the roots aud stems of the heather picked out), and 

 one part of Ught very turfy loam, with half a part of charcoal 

 broken to pass through a lialf-inch sieve, aud a Uke proportion 

 of silver sand. Place enough in the pot to bring the collar of 

 the plant level with the rim of the pot, put the compost round 

 the ball, ram it pretty tightly with a piece of lath, and in this 

 way bring it up to within half an inch of the rim. Large shifts 

 are not good. A pot 1 to l.J inch larger than that in which 

 the plant has been previously growing is sufficient. I finish 

 off n-ith a dashing of silver sand on the surface. 



Water carefully after repotting, and take care that the centre 

 do not become dry, but if the plants are deluged with water 

 they will soon appear sickly and die-off. When the roots are 

 pushing freely hi the fresh soil water Uberally, but without 

 rendering the soil sodden. 



In Epacris culture no stakes nor ties are wanted, but stop 

 the strong shoots when they have grown 3 inches, and repeat 

 the stopping whenever the shoots attain this length until 

 August ; then leave it off, and in October, if there are any 

 young shoots longer than 6 inches, stop them. This wUl keep 

 the plants very compact, and they will have none of those 

 long straggUng shoots that flower at the base and for a great 

 extent at the end are bare of bloom. I even stop such iire- 

 gular growth during the winter or blooming season. It throws 

 more vigour into the Uttle stubby shoots, which are mostly 

 spikes of bloom. 



The plants are kept in the pits without heat from April 

 until the middle or end of September, and have abundance of 

 air, though for a fortnight or three weeks they are kept rather 

 close. They are not exposed to the external air at any time. In 

 this way they make very firm wood, brittle as glass, and flower 

 remarkably well. I do not advocate placing them in heat to 

 make fresh growth, nor keeping them close at any time. They 

 thi'ive better in pits than in houses in summer — I think from 

 the former having more moistui-e. In the house they have a 

 light and any position, and come into bloom in November or 

 December, and continue flowering till April in a temperature 

 of iO' to 4-5° from fire heat. 



In watering Epacrises care should be taken not to pour the 

 water dh-ectly on the stems of the plants, but just within the 

 rim, for when it is poured on near the stem, there being few- 

 er uo fibres there to take it up, it destroys the bark, and the 

 plants die off at the neck. 



A few really good kinds are — 



Eclipse, tube vermiUou, pure white hps, finely recurved. It 



is one of the finest. 

 IJevoniana, blight crimson tube, with paler-tinted h\>^. Fiue. 

 Hyacinthiflora, bright cai-miue tube aud rose hps. One of 



the best. 

 Carmiuata, bright carmine. Good. 

 Cai'nea, fiesh-coloiu-ed tube, with paler-tinted lips. 

 The Bride, pirre w^hite. Fine. 

 Onosm'tcflora, pure white. E.>:tra, but late. 

 Delicata, blush, changing to white. Very good. 

 Limata, rose tube, and pale blush lips. 

 Miniata spleudeus, vermiUou tube, aud white liiis. I-'iue. 

 Impressa, crimson tube, aud white lips. 

 Multiflora, crimson and white. 

 Ardentissima, crimson. 



Alba odorata, pure white aud sweet-scented. Large aud good. 

 Coccinea, scarlet. 



I consider the Epacris the most useful uf all winter and 

 early-spring-flowering plants. — (i. Abbey. 



EGYAL HORTICULTUBAL SOCIETY'S 

 BIRMINGHAM EXHIBITION. 



A SENSIBLE letter in the .Joui'ual of the 4th inst., on the 

 subject of horticultural buildings to be e.xhibited for competi- 

 tion at Birmingham in .June, induces me to ventiu'e upon a 

 few suggestions, for the writer declares himself puzzled as to 

 what is to be the criterion of excellence. The object of the 



