FRANCISCEA. 
Greenhouse and Stove Plants. 
177 
So free is their growth that they will 
thrive in places where there is much less 
light than most plants will succeed with. 
When they get too high or at all straggling 
they may be cut in, and they will then 
break out again, or the space may be filled 
with fresh plants. All the Fittonias suc- 
ceed best in a warm, moist atmosphere 
such as will answer for most warm stove 
plants, with shade when the weather is 
sunny. 
The following are deserving of cultiva- 
tion :— 
F. argyroneura. Ground ‘colour pale 
green, profusely netted with silvery-white 
nerves. A native of Peru. 
F. gigantea. A strong-growing plant, 
the leaves of which are dark green, prettily 
veined with red. From Ecuador. 
F. rubro-nervia. Medium-sized oval 
leaves, beautifully veined with reddish 
pink, a charming species. From Peru. 
F. Verschaffeltu. Leaves deep green, with 
red veining. Brazil. 
InsEects.—Fittonias are easily kept free 
from the smaller insects that affect plants 
in heat by constant syringing, in which 
way the water they require can in a great 
measure be given. If mealy bug attacks 
them, syringe freely with tepid water and 
sponge the leaves afterwards. 
FRANCISCEA. 
Francisceas rank amongst the finest and 
most distinct of flowering stove plants. 
They vary considerably in size, from the 
small, moderately compact, wpright-habited 
F. Hopeana to the broad laurel-leaved F. 
confertiflora, which, when well grown, 
attains a height of 4 or 5 feet, and a dia- 
meter of 3 or 4 feet ; its ample dark green 
glossy leaves form a perfect background to 
its large purple flowers, deep in colour 
when first opened, but, like those of most 
of the other species, turning gradually paler 
as they get older, until they assume almost 
a white shade. FF. confertiflora is un- 
doubtedly the finest representative of the 
genus, taking all its properties into account, 
although it is eclipsed in size of flower by 
the largest form of F. calycina called F. 
calycina major, but neither this nor the 
smaller form retains its leaves so well as 
F. confertiflora, nor do they grow so freely. 
The beauty of the flowers of most of the 
species is much increased by the white 
ring round the mouth of the tube, which 
is most conspicuous when they first open, 
contrasting well with the intense colour of 
the newly-expanded biossoms. Another 
desirable property which they possess is 
that, in addition to opening their flowers in 
succession, the time of their flowering may 
be so regulated as to have a continuance 
for several months, extending from early 
spring until the summer is far advanced. 
This much increases their value for exhibi- 
tion purposes or for general decoration, for 
which latter they are invaluable, as they 
will stand in a conservatory when in flower 
in summer. There is one thing in which 
several of the species, more particularly F. 
confertiflora, differ from most plants, and 
that is that, although they need a moderate 
heat to grow well, they will open their 
flowers freely and much finer in colour in a 
cool house and when closely shaded than 
they do in heat. This is the more remark- 
able as it is completely at variance with the 
requirements of the greater number of plants. 
There are one or two matters peculiar to 
their cultivation which it is essential not 
to lose sight of. First, at no season, either 
when making their growth or even when 
it is completed and the wood and leaves 
are fully matured, can they bear the effects 
of the direct action of the sun, or the deep 
glossy green of their leaves will be quickly 
converted into a dingy brown, sickly hue. 
When in flower, too, the colour of the 
blooms becomes bleached in a day or two 
if the sun is allowed to shine upon them. 
The second and equally important point is 
that they should at all times be kept free 
from insects—especially that worst of all 
pests, mealy bug, which if present is sure 
to get the plants into bad condition, for not 
only do the flower-buds get injured by the 
operation of cleaning and fall off, but 
the leaves also suffer. Other insects will 
live on Francisceas, but none else are so 
injurious. 
All Francisceas are easily propagated by 
means of cuttings made of the half-ripened 
wood, which may generally be obtained by 
the end of March from plants that have 
made early growth in the stove. Bits of 
the leading shoots about 4 inches or 5 
inches in length, inserted in small pots 
filled with sand, placed in a temperature of 
70°, covered with propagating glasses and 
shaded, root in a few weeks, after which 
the glasses should be removed. Put them 
where they will receive plenty of light, 
but be shaded from the sun. As soon as 
the cuttings have filled their little pots 
with roots they should be removed into 
others 4 inches or 5 inches in diameter. 
They will all grow in either peat or loam 
or a mixture of both ; but, like most ever- 
green plants with large leaves, they grow 
reest in peat, which gives the deep green 
colour to the leaves so desirable. In peat 
they make stronger shoots, and these, in 
the case of Francisceas, always produce the 
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