October 31, 1865. ] 



JOURNAL OF HORTICULTUEE AND COTTAGE GARDENER. 



367 



Gnaphahum HYBEKBonEUM, Or Antcnnaria hyperborea, is a 

 fine edKiiiR plant ; everybody sliouUl liavo it, being dwarf and 

 both sides of tlic leaf silvery, (i. leontoiiodiuni, dwarf, and 

 good, is a mass of wliito cotton ; grit, with a sparing mixture 

 of peat and loam. 



Geum hontanum, flowers yellow, large and solitary ; grit, 

 peat, and loam. 



Gentianas, — Of these G. acanlis and alpina are nearly re- 

 lated, but the flowers of the latter arc less than those of the 

 former, but botli are fine. Besides these there is such a host 

 of beautiful species that it is no easy task to enumerate them. 

 Ci. verna has charming bright blue flowers, more than an int4i 

 across. Loam and stones, and I imagine it llourislies best when 

 pieces of limestone are mixed with the soil ; it requires good 

 drainage and a good suiiply of water. I may name in addition 

 (i. Fortuni, (i. lutea, (i. ciliata, and (i. bavarica, which are all 

 beautiful and but little known. All the family succeed well in 

 fibrous loam, with gravel or limestone forming the under- 

 stratum, and if moist in sunnner and dry in winter all the 

 better. They like sun and open exposures. Some few, as 

 (t. Fortunei and G. pneumonanthe, require peat, and grit, and 

 that moist. 



Hedysardm oiiscuRUM, has ornamental spikes of purplish 

 crimson flowers. Loam and gi'it or sand, kept moist. 



HYrERictTM CALYCINDI (St. .Johu's Wort), flowers yellow and 

 solitary. Loam, sandy peat, and gravel or limestone. 



iBEitrs sAxATAi/is, I. Teuorcana, and I. sempervirens. White 

 flowers in dense masses. Loam and a sunny aspect. 



LEPiGoNtisi KUPESTHE, requires sand in deep sunny fissures, 

 and a sheltered situation. Like all plants enjoying the sea 

 breezes, it is tender. 



LiNAiiiA CYMrALARiA vARiEGATA, Icaves Creamy white, some- 

 times rose and gi'een. L. alpina is a ])retty plant for sunny 

 crevices among rockwork. Loam and grit kept moist. 



LiTHospERMUH FRUTicosuM, evergreen and hardy. Ledges 

 of rockwork, with a warm aspect. Peat, loam, and grit. 



LiNUM MONOGYNUM, dwarf ; flowers white. A moist sandy 

 loam, well drained. L. alpinum has pretty little blue flowers, 

 and L. flavum with yellow flowers is well known. 



Meconopsis cambrica, flowers yellow, and a weed with me in 

 light loam or gravel. Prefers a shady position. 



MiMULus cupREus, dwarf and creeping. A very ornamental 

 plant for rockwork, though of little value for bedding-out. 

 Flowers yellowish orange. Moist loam, peat and sand, in slight 

 shade. 



Menziesia roLiFOLiA, and its white variety globosa, are 

 effective rock plants. M. empetrifolia, with rosy purple blooms, 

 is very pretty. Moist peat and grit, and a sunny position. 



Myosotis azoricus, flowers purple changing to blue. Re- 

 quires moist loam and grit. M. montana blooms in early 

 spring, and M. alpicola, deep lilac, with sometimes a yellow 

 eye, in May. Both require shady fissures, or ledges, and con- 

 tinuous moisture, with perfect drainage. Of M. palustris, 

 bright blue with pink eye, I have an edging 50 yards long, and 

 a foot broad, and it is never out of bloom, more or less, from 

 April to December. It likes moisture, and slight shade, but 

 sun if the moisture be constant ; M. sylvatica, loam or gravel. 

 Omphalodes vebna. — Blue flowers in loose spikes, produced 

 early in spring. Very sandy loam and leaf mould, on warm 

 ledges of rockwork which are shaded in summer. 

 _ Oxytropis uralensis, a dwarf, procumbent plant, with 

 sUvery leaves, and purple flowers. Grit and fibry peat, kept 

 moist, and a sunny exposure. — G. Abbey. 

 (To be coutinued.) 



THE CULTURE OF THE MANGOSTEEN FOR 

 THE DESSERT. 



In the last Number of your .Journal I briefly gave the result 

 of my experience in growing the JIango. I now purpose say- 

 ing a few words about the Mangosteeu (Garcinia mangostana), 

 another tropical fruit, almost unknown in England, which I 

 have successfully cultivated. This tree, although more diffi- 

 cult to grow than the Mango, is well worthy of a place in every 

 fruit stove, as not only is the foliage graceful and the flowers 

 large and ornamental, but the fruit is one of the most delicious 

 known, being preferred by many persons to the Mango. 



The Mangosteen is a native of Borneo and one or two of the 

 adjacent islands, where it grows to a moderate-sized tree. 

 The leaves are about 9 inches long, in shape somewhat like a 

 Laurel, of a fine green on the upper side, and dark underneath. 



I The flower, which resembles a Camellia, but is larger, is of a 

 d(^ep crimson coloui-, and very fragrant. The fruit is about 

 the size of an ordinary Ajiplo, and when ripe turns to a dark 

 brown, curiously spotted with green. Internally it is divided 

 into cells like an Orange, each division being filled with a 

 imlji of the most delicious taste, combining the flavour of the 

 I'ino Apple, Grai>e, and Apricot, with one peculiarly its own. 



In order to grow the JIangosteen successfully, it should be 

 jilantt'd in a decji tub or box, well (h'ained, and either trained 

 against a back wall of a hothouse or grown as a standard. The 

 soil should consist of equal parts of good turfy loam, well cut 

 up, but not sifted, and leaf mould mixed with a little sand. 

 The following Is the best method of cultivation. 



Towards the middle of .January the boxes containing the 

 plants should have a good top-dressing of fresh loam, mixed 

 with a little rotten cowdung, first removing as much of the old 

 soil as can be got out without touching the roots, the plants may 

 tlien have a good watering with very weak liquid manure, and 

 the temperature, which during the two previous months should 

 have been 7.5° by day and (j()' by night, may be raised to 80° 

 by day and 70° by night ; the trees should be frequently syringed, 

 and the house kept moist and close, little or no air being re- 

 quired for the first fortnight. 



As soon as the new leaf-buds begin to open the temperature 

 must again be raised •")', and may range between 8.5° and 95° in 

 the day, and 70° to 75° by night. Air will now be needed in 

 order to strengthen the young wood, and it may be given in 

 small quantities during the middle of the day; but it should 

 be borne in mind that the Mangosteen loves a close atmosijhere, 

 and requires less air than any other stove fruit. 



When the young wood is about 2 inches long, the flower- 

 buds wiU begin to show themselves, and as soon as they are 

 the size of large Peas the shoots may be stopped, allowing only 

 two or three buds on each shoot ; unless this is done the tree is 

 apt to run too much to wood, and the fruit is not nearly so fine. 

 The trees should now be kept very warm and moist, frequently 

 syringing them overhead until the flowers open, but taking 

 care not to overwater the roots. In a week from showing colour 

 the flowers will begin to open, and the rich hue of the blossom, 

 together with its large and striking appearance, renders the 

 trees at this time most beautiful objects, sometimes from thirty 

 to forty blossoms, each as large as a full-grown Rose, being 

 open at a time. 



As the flowers open they must be set by hand, as, unless 

 this is done, in England the fruit will not swell. Strange as 

 it appears, hardly a fruit is produced without taking this pre- 

 caution. As, however, the flowers are large, and the pollen 

 most abundant, the operation is an easy one, and it should be 

 performed early in the day. 



The flowers continue to open for some weeks in succession, 

 and it will be necessary, if the sun is hot, to give a little shade 

 in the middle of the day for about two hours when the trees 

 are in bloom. As long as there are any blossoms open the 

 syringe must not be used, but the house may be kept moist by 

 sprinkling the pipes or flues. Air must be given but sparingly, 

 and the house should be shut up closely by two or three o'clock 

 in the afternoon. 



When all bloom is over, and the fruit begins to swell, the 

 trees can again be well syringed every night until the fruit is 

 ripe. When this takes place — which may be known by the 

 fruit turning brown, and emitting a faint but very pleasant 

 scent — no more water must be given over the foliage, and the 

 house itself should be kept ibier, the temperature being about 

 90° or 95° by day, and 10° lower at night. 



The fruit when ripe will hang for seven or eight weeks if the 

 house is kept di-y and close. In gathering be careful to cut, 

 not pick the fruit, and to take those which are ripest first, 

 leaving the largest, which always hang the best. In serving 

 for dessert the fruit should be garnished with its own leaves 

 and flowers, a few blossoms always appearing about the time the 

 main crop is ripe. 



As soon as the fruit is all off, which will not be before No- 

 vember, the temperature of the house should be lowered to 80°, 

 and air admitted in the mornings of fine days. All the new 

 shoots must be cut back to within a foot or 18 inches of the old 

 wood, thinning out straggling and weak branches, and picking 

 oft' the decayed leaves. The plants must be kept dry, giving 

 only sufticient water to keep them from flagging. 



The Mangosteen is easily raised from both cuttings and 

 seeds, the latter should be sown as soon as possible, as they 

 will not keep. 



Like the Mango, the Mangosteen delights in a high tempera- 



