ARAUCARIA. 
Greenhouse and Stove Plants. 
49 
a height of from 50 to 100 feet. This 
fact obviously precludes the possibility of 
their being cultivated in glass structures 
except whilst in a comparatively small 
state; yet, so distinct and handsome are 
they, even while young and not yet of 
a size to show much of their true character, 
that they are often used in large conser- 
vatories, where, occupying a central or other 
commanding position, they are effective for 
some years, or so long as they can be kept 
within bounds. A. excelsa is especially 
adapted for such use, its noble plume-like 
branches having the appearance of gigantic 
ostrich feathers. 
The method of propagation is from 
cuttings of the firm wood taken off in the 
autumn and inserted five or six together in 
6-inch pots four-fifths filled with a mixture 
of sand and sifted loam, with a little sand 
on the top. In this insert the cuttings 
made from pieces of the points of the 
shoots about 6 inches long. They should 
be kept at a warm greenhouse temperature, 
watered so as to maintain the soil fairly 
moist, but not closely confined. In the 
course of the winter the cuttings will callus, 
and form roots before or during spring ; 
when a fair amount are made move singly 
into 4 or 5 inch pots, and keep the plants 
in a pit or house where they will get a 
little less air than ordinary stock until 
they begin to grow freely. Then give 
more air, and water so as to keep the soil 
moderately moist. Nothing more will be 
required through the summer except the 
ordinary routine of management needful 
for greenhouse plants ; the winter treatment 
also requires to be similar to that which 
answers for the general occupants of the 
greenhouse. 
About March they will need moving 
into pots 3 or 4 inches larger. Araucarias 
like good yellow loam if such is at hand, 
and as they are free-rooters it need not be 
broken very fine, but add enough sand to 
secure the water passing freely through ; at 
the same time pot firm. They will now 
grow away freely, and must be stood far 
enough apart to keep them from being at 
all drawn, for on this depends their satis- 
factory appearance, and as the object is to 
get short-jointed, well-furnished specimens, 
rather than to induce rapid upward exten- 
sion, they must have plenty of light and 
air. From this time forward their treat- 
ment needs to be of the simplest character. 
Each spring for two or three years give 
them pots a couple of inches larger, and 
after that time they may go for two or 
three years without moving according to 
the apparent state of the individual plants 
in requiring sustenance. In this it is 
necessary to take a medium course between 
allowing too little and too much root-room ; 
if the latter is given they are made un- 
wieldy, and their increase of size is accele- 
rated so that they soon get too big for even 
ordinary large houses. This especially 
applies to A. excelsa, the kind which is 
most grown. Where there is a likelihood 
of any of the species soon getting too tall 
for the house they occupy, their upward 
extension may be retarded by cutting the 
leading stem back two or three joints, 
severing the top just above a joint; this 
should be done in spring some weeks before , 
growth commences. The eyes immediately 
below the point where cut back to will 
start, and from the shoots thus produced 
select the most promising for a leader and 
remove the others. In this way a new 
top will be secured to take the place of that 
removed, and by the adoption of this course 
at intervals growth is directed more into 
the side branches, and top extension 
checked so as to keep the plants more 
within bounds. When too large for the 
house in which located they must be 
discarded, others having previously been 
prepared to take their place. 
All the species can be raised from seed 
where such is to be had, but for private 
use propagation by cuttings will generally 
be the best. 
The undermentioned are all suitable for 
use as already mentioned :— 
A. Cooki. A distinct-looking plant, 
much denser in growth than A. excelsa, 
differing altogether in its general habit. 
From New Caledonia. 
A. Cunninghamii. An Australian species 
that forms a handsome specimen, retaining 
its leaves in a way that keeps the plant 
densely clothed. It is a moderately quick 
grower, but does not attain height so 
rapidly as A. excelsa. 
A. Cunningham glauca. A glaucous 
form of the last named. From Port Molle. 
A. elegans. A New Caledonian species, 
of smaller growth than the others. It has 
elegant slender branches, the foliage very 
bright green. 
A. excelsa. The most beautiful of all the 
species, and also one of the most elegant 
plants ever introduced. Norfolk Island. 
A. excelsa glauca. A variety of the above, 
with distinct glaucous leaves, 
A, Ruler. <A handsome plant with a 
very distinct form of growth; its slender 
drooping branches have a charming 
appearance where there is room to give it 
sufficient scope. It is in the way of the 
hardy A. imbricata, but much more slender, 
and the branches are more numerous. 
From the Papuan Archipelago. 
