M«T 20, 1876. ] 



JOURNAL OP HORTICULTURE AND COTTAGE GARDENER. 



387 



parched borders. The plan well carried out will result in a 

 beautiful crop of Holly berries. 



But after all the birds may enjoy the berries, for when 

 winterly weather sets in hunger is a sharp thorn, and they will 

 soon clear a Holly tree of its fruit. The fieldfares are very 

 destructive to Holly berries, for coming as they do in flocks 

 they will soon clear a tree. The Mistletoe thrush is also a very 

 troublesome bird in sharp weather, so that those who have 

 berries and prize them will do well to be on the look-out and 

 protect them before it is too late. Nets will do put carefully 

 round, but I adopted the following plan last year ; I had some 

 balls of white worsted and run it all round the heads of the 

 trees where they were not too large. It is easily and quickly done 

 by just twisting it round the tops of the shoots or round the 

 leaves. This was the only thing that saved us berries for 

 Christmas decoration. — G. B. Allis. 



DIOSMA (ADENANDEA) UNIFLOBA. 

 The Diosmas are a genus of beautiful Heath-like shrubs 

 from the Cape of Good Hope. They are of easy culture, vary- 



Fig. 93.— DioBma (Adenandra) nniflora. 



ing in height of from 1 to 4 feet, are graceful, yet compact in 

 habit, and are exceedingly floriferous. The colours of the 

 flowers are mainly white, or white and pink ; the plants afford 

 nice sprays for cutting, which they endure without injury. 

 Those who enjoy hardwooded greenhouse plants which do not 

 require the nice attention and skilful management of Heaths 

 would do well to turn to the Diosmas. 



Besides being of elegant appearance by their Heath-like 

 foUage and attractive by their multitude of star-like flowers, the 

 plant, like other Eueworts, emit a powerful perfume. From 

 this characteristic is their name derived — viz., from dios, 

 divine, and osme, odour. These plants are not extensively 

 cultivated, probably because they are less showy than the 

 osnal class of summer greenhouse plants which are now in re- 

 pute, yet they possess a sober quiet beauty which should, 

 irrespective of their perfume, entitle them to more general 

 cultivation. They are readily propagated by cuttings in sand 

 nnder a bell-glass, and do not require much heat or they will 

 elongate instead of emit roots. When rooted they should be 

 potted in peaty soil and be grown in a light intermediate 

 bonse, duly pinching the shoots to keep the plants compact 



and bushy. They should be shifted-on as required, not large 

 shifts at a time, and be potted firmly , incorporating, as the plants 

 become large, loam and charcoal with the peat. The shoots 

 should not be pinched after August, but the plants should then 

 be stood in the full sun, shading the pots, to have the wood 

 matured, and every shoot will bristle with bloom in the follow- 

 ing spring and early summer. When the plants have flowered 

 they should be pruned, top-dressed, and encouraged to make 

 fresh growth to be well matured before winter. The plants 

 may be wintered in any light structure from which frost is 

 excluded, but it is desirable the temperature do not fall 

 below 40". 



The more showy of the species now form new genera, 

 Agathosma, Baryosma, Adenandra, etc., the one figured be- 

 longing to the genus last-named. It is a dwarf-growing species 

 with pink flowers, and worthy a place in any collection of hard- 

 wooded greenhouse plants. 



POINSETTIA PDLCHEERIMA. 



Peobablt most cultivators of this brilliant winter plant have 

 their Poinsettias freely growing now. They were shaken out 

 some time ago, repotted, and are on shelves in some well- 

 heated structure making rapid growth preparatory to large 

 and highly coloured whorls of bracts to set the houses aglow 

 at Christmas time. Where fine heads are required irrespective 

 of length of stem the plants cannot well be started too early, 

 provided that conveniences are at hand for growing them on 

 without check. When started early two conditions are essen- 

 tial to success — the plants must have heat sufficient to keep 

 them healthy, and light to keep them as sturdy as is consistent 

 with their nature. Not in all places where Poinsettias are 

 required can these conditions be found. There may be heat 

 but not light, and as a consequence the plants become drawn. 

 By this cause are many failures, or at the best partial successes. 

 A stove, it may be, is provided in which to flower the plants ; 

 but this structure, being devoted to Ferns and foliage plants 

 in the summer, requires to be shaded, and the other houses 

 which afford the requisite heat are vineries, and their roofs 

 are covered with foliage. But still those who have a stove in 

 which a night temperature of CO' is kept up in winter expect 

 to have Poinsettias, whether there is any suitable place for 

 growing them in summer or not. Certainly a shaded stove or 

 fernery is not suitable, neither is the vinery which is darkened 

 by foliage. Now with these, and only these, conveniences — 

 a shaded stove and vinery in which to prepare Poinsettias, the 

 best plan to adopt is to defer starting the plants until late in 

 the spring — i.e., about the second week in May, and instead 

 of growing them in shaded houses prepare the plants in light 

 frames. 



Frames usually known as " cold " are really — or may be 

 made so — admirable miniature stoves in summer if the sun 

 heat is carefully conserved and moisture afforded to make the 

 atmosphere genial. These are very suitable in which to grow 

 Poinsettias during the months of June, July, August and Sep- 

 tember. This free, healthy, unchecked growth for four months 

 is sufficient to prepare valuable decorative plants for winter 

 effect. They may not be large or tall, but if they are healthy, 

 dwarf, and have heads to 8 inches in diameter, they will be 

 exceedingly useful and attractive, and for many purposes indis- 

 pensable. By starting the plants late it is seen their culture 

 is greatly simplified, and the only structures necessary are a 

 warm house in which to bloom them in winter, and plain 

 frames or pits in which to grow them in summer. 



My first essays in Poinsettia-growingwere failures. I started 

 my plants early, and could only grow them on under the shade 

 ot Vines, and hence their growth became weak and elongated. 

 By starting later and growing mostly in frames a fair share ot 

 success followed. I never had nicer, more useful and showy 

 plants, than the year in which I cut the plants down on May 

 the 20th. They were cut hard in and the plants stood in the 

 vinery to break ; when pushed half an inch they were shaken 

 out and repotted, and kept in the vinery a week to assist them 

 to become re-established, and were placed in cold (now sun- 

 warmed) frames on June 22nd. 



On being shaken out the plants were potted in clean pots — 

 that is important — a size smaller than those in which they 

 had bloomed the previous year. The soil used was equal 

 parts of loam, peat, and leaf mould, with a free admixture 

 of silver sand. Towards the end of July the pots were filled 

 with active roots and the plants were shifted into their 

 blooming pots, using soil considerably richer by substituting 



