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June 13, 1867. ) 



JOURNAL OP HOBTICUIiTURE AND COTTAGE GARDENER. 



4^S 



HUMEA ELEGAXS CULTURE. 



I ROJI the stateliness of its 

 growth, llie graceful cUsiio- 

 sition of its silveiy-browu 

 plumes, aud its agreeable 

 fragrance, Humea elegaus 

 must be considered one of 

 the most pleasing of decorative plants. Planted at the 

 back of a border of bedding plants, dotted here and there 

 in extensive ai'rangements of these, placed in the centre of a 

 large bed, or grown as a specimen on a lawn, any short- 

 coming ■which it may have as regards showiness of bloom 

 is more than' compensated for by its distinotness of habit 

 and elegance of form. 



The plant was grown much taller (some say finer), fifteen 

 or twenty years ago than now ; one might then have seen 

 Humeas with stems as thick as a Dalilia-stake, and quite 

 as long, without so mucli as a leaf — wonderful were tlie 

 Humeas of those days — but since then symmetrical plants 

 well provided with foliage and bloom, without the dis- 

 figurement of a long bare stem, are the objects aimed at. 



Those who cultivate the Humea should remember that 

 it is a biennial ; the moment the seed has germinated the 

 tendency of the plant is towards flowering ; it grows one 

 year and flowers the next, being -vigorous and compact, or 

 tall and ungainly, according to the treatment. If tall 

 " leggy " plants are wanted, then sow the seed in spring, 

 keep the plants pot-bound throughout the summer, allow 

 the foliage to flag from want of water, keep them as closely 

 together as trees are planted in a coppice, and warm and at 

 a distance from the glass in winter ; but if you wish for fine 

 plants with spray toucliing the gi'ound or stretcldng beyond 

 the rim of tlie pot, they must from tlie day they appear 

 above the soil he kept gentlj' progressing, must never flag 

 from want of pot-room or water, and must have the same 

 advantages as a specimen Pelargonimu or Cineraria — 

 namely, plenty of air, light, and room. 



The seed may be sown any time during ^May, but from 

 the 1st to the 1.5tli is to be preferred. It is not, however, 

 now too late to sow the seed, more especially for planting- 

 out in the follomng year about this time. A pan a foot in 

 diameter will be sufficient to grow plants for a large garden, 

 and a shilling packet of seed vi-ill be ample. The pan 

 should be well drained, aud filled to the rim witli line 

 soil, sifted through a half-inch sieve, an inch or so of tlie 

 riddlings or rougli portions being placed o\'er the drainage, 

 and then the line soil. The compost may consist of two- 

 thirds light loam, one-third leaf mould, and one-sixtli of 

 silver sand. Previous to sowing, tiie surface should be ! 

 made quite smooth by patting it gently with the bottom of i 

 a flower-pot, and after tlie seeds have been scattered evenly ■ 

 over the surface they should bo just covered v.'ith fine soil. | 

 Ko. 321 —Vol. XIL New Series. 



A gentle watering must then be given, and the pan, having 

 been placed in a hotbed, the soil should be kept shaded and 

 moist. A Cucumber or Melon-frame, or any ordinary hot- 

 bed will do. The soil should be kept moist but not w«t, 

 and in a few days the plants will appear. The pan ought 

 to be kept near the glass, and air must be given daily, and 

 water when necessary. When the plants sliow tlieir second 

 or rough leaves, the pan should be placed near the glass 

 in a cold frame, or, which wiU answer better, it may be set 

 in a position shaded from the midday sun, and covered 

 with a hand-glass, the top being put cross-comerwise early 

 every morning. Give a gentle sprinkling overhead at 

 4 P.M., and put on the top closely. If placed in a frame the 

 pan ought to be shaded from bright sun in order to prevent 

 the soil becoming dry, and air should be liberally admitted, 

 but in the moruing only, closing early in the aftemooa 

 after gently sprinkling with water overhead. 



Tlie plants will not appear to make much progress at 

 first, but when one can take them between the finger and 

 thumb, and with a stick lift tliem from the pan, pot them 

 off singly in pots from ih to .'i inches in diameter, using the 

 same compost as at the time of sowing, and set the pots- 

 closely togetlier on sand in a cold frame. Give a gcnUe 

 watering after potting, put on the lights, keep close, shade- 

 from i) A.ji. to 4 p.jr., and at the latter hour give the lightest 

 possible sprinkling of water, and shut up closely. In a 

 few days the plants will recover ; then admit air early in 

 the morning, shade for an hour or two during the hottest 

 part of tlie day, shut up closely by 4 p ji., and give a gentle 

 watering overhead. Water should also be supplied in the- 

 morning, for the soil in the pots must be kept moist. 



Under the above treatment the plants will grow rapidly 

 and strongly. They must not stand still an hour : there- 

 fore when their pots are full of roots at once shift them into 

 four-inch pots. Afterwards keep tliem in the frame, par- 

 sning the same treatment as before, and in a fortnight they 

 ■will have filled tlie pots with roots, and should have six- 

 inch pots ■n'ithout delay, employing the same compost and 

 aflbrding the same treatment as before, only they most 

 ha^ie room. These pots will soon be filled with a mass of 

 roots, and now for a change of treatment. Tilt the lights 

 hack and front from 7 .4.5!. to ."> p.m.. the lights being drawn 

 on at the former hour and olf at the latter. The pl.ints 

 •will therefore be covered by the lights tilted over tliem 

 by day and be exposed at night. Water overhead when 

 the lights are drawn domi, but before doing so water at 

 the root if the soil is dry, using weak liquid munnre if 

 necessary. By tlie early part of August tlie plants ■will 

 ha,ve hard balls of soil and roots : choose then an opeix 

 situation, but sheltered from winds, and prepare a bed 

 1 foot deep in every way the same as for prickiag-OBt 

 Celery, using good loam enriched with a dressing ot" 

 ■'! inches of rotten manure and ;! inches of rough 1 ?af monld. 

 Give the plants a good ■watering before turning them out of 

 their pots, and plant them in the bed in quincunx order at 

 l.foot apart every way ; then well water them overhead at 

 once, and afterwards whenever tlie weather is hot and' 

 dry ; in such periods watering at the root must also be 

 well attended to. 



Nc . STC— ToL. XXS'VII., Old Sisc -.?» 



