276 ON FLOWER PEGS. 



dually exposed to the open air with other deciduous greenhouse 

 shrubs, and ultiniatelj' placed in a cool vinery or <>reenhouse 

 until the following spring. At that period they should be newly 

 potted, and on the first appearance of vegetation pruned closely 

 to within one or two buds at the base of each branch. 



The foregoing remarks embody the kind of treatment follow ed 

 in the case of two plants whose heights were about 4 feet, and 

 the diverging branches 10 and 14 feet in circumference. The 

 ripened extremities of the branches upon eacii plant produced 11 

 large racemes of bloom, unfolding in both instances nearly 300 

 rich bronze-coloured orange funnel-shaped flowers, each 3? inches 

 in diameter. These plants presented a very beautiful eti'ect by 

 their diffuse flower stems, whilst the elegantly-winged leaves 

 gracefully contrasted with the darker masses of foliage aroiuid 

 them. The last, and not least, recommendation of this species 

 is its adaptation, -whilst in bloom, for being placed in dark-roofed 

 conservatories, wdiere light is but sparingly admitted, and where 

 plants of softer growth would certainly sustain injury. 



XXVI.— 0« Flower Pegs. By A. Forsyth, C.M.H.S., St. 

 Mary's Church, Torquay. 



(Communicated Sept. 12th, 1851.) 



In some branches of horticulture the rudest materials are still 

 used, and appliances of a primitive character resorted to, as if 

 gardening with us were only as yet in its infancy. Surely the 

 finishing stroke to a bed of flowers is the pegging down or tying 

 up of the branches, so as to show off the bed as a whole to the 

 greatest possible advantage. 



Passing over the subject of flower sticks, I shall confine myself 

 to pegging and peg making. In the ordinary arrangements of 

 nature we find all flowers more or less elevated ; at all events this 

 is the rule, and flowers prostrate either on the earth or on the 

 water are the exceptions to this rule : it is therefore an unnatural 

 practice to bind them to the earth ; most plants too have an up- 

 ward tendency, consequently bending down is apt to break them. 

 For these reasons therefore I find it desirable to employ a prop 

 to hold the flcnver up from the earth in addition 1o the hooked 

 stick to keep it down. This appliance will be understood by a 

 glance at tiie accompanying woodcuts, being neither more nor 

 less than a forked stick, such as is used on a large scale to sup- 

 port the limbs of apple trees when heavily laden. The fork for 

 propping up small plants is made of the same material as that 

 used for ihe hooked peg of horticulture, namely, the fronds of the 



