LAPAGERIA, 
Greenhouse and Stove Plants. 
229 
duced ; but as its requirements became 
better understood, and it acquired strength 
and size, its full beauty and freedom of 
blooming became fully realised, for, in 
addition to the individually attractive 
character of the flowers, and their elegant 
drooping habit, it exhibited the excellent 
property of flowering over a much longer 
period than most plants. Indeed a large 
well-managed specimen when planted out, 
so as to have plenty of room for its roots, 
will continue producing its brilliant cam- 
panulate blooms for several months in 
succession. In general habit the plant has 
one advantage over most climbers, that it 
covers a very considerable space, yet is not 
such an over-rampant grower as to be at 
all difficult to keep within bounds. Its 
natural disposition of producing strong 
underground shoots, which yearly bre ak 
up from the collar below the surface of the 
soil, keeps the base continuously furnished 
with young growth in a way that pre- 
vents its getting naked at the bottom ; 
another advantage which the plant pos- 
sesses is, that its stout, glossy, ovate-lanceo- 
late leaves are sufficiently large to be 
effective, but neither too big or numerous 
to shade injuriously the ‘generality of 
things grown in conservatories, which 
often are seriously injured when the roof- 
climbers are of an over-vigorous character. 
We have so far only spoken of the plant 
when grown as a climber, in which posi- 
tion its flowers are best seen, but it is also 
well adapted for being treated as a trained 
pot specimen. In this way the red variety 
has been produced bearing 500 of its deep 
red, white spotted, or marbled flowers at a 
time, in which condition few plants could 
be more effective. The red variety, how- 
-ever, is eclipsed by the newer white form, 
a counterpart of the former in all except 
that its flowers are pure white. Inasmuch 
as white flowers of such a character as this 
are scarce, the white Lapageria is a real 
acquisition, especially for cutting. When 
arranged in the natural drooping position, 
for filling vases or epergnes, both varieties 
are effective ; ; they are also well adapted 
for bouquets where their long-enduring 
capabilities—they will last for a week 
almost as fresh as when growing on the 
plant—have few equals. 
When the red or typical form was first 
introduced it was considered difficult to 
grow, for the simple reason that has given 
many other fine plants a bad character in 
this respect, namely, the fact that they 
cannot conform to treatment suited to sub- 
jects that exist naturally under widely 
different climatic conditions. It is found 
in Chiloe, where it is represented as twin- 
ing over the undergrowth of shrubs in the 
woods, where consequently it receives con- 
siderable shade. The country is subject to 
frosts and deluging rains in winter, and is 
also wet and cold in the summer, the tem- 
perature seldom rising above 70°, ‘and gene- 
rally being considerably lower. This at 
once points to the plant’s requirements 
under cultivation, showing the necessity for 
supplying it liberally with moisture both 
overhead and at the roots, as also its in- 
ability to bear anything approaching a hot 
or dry atmosphere, and its need of shade 
in bright weather. All this has been fully 
verified in practice, as where these condi- 
tions do not exist it does not succeed well. 
All the plant requires in the shape of heat 
is just enough to exclude frost; on the 
shady end or “side of a cold conservatory or 
corridor it is at home, where it can have 
plenty of root-room, requiring in this re- 
spect more space than many things would 
bear without being induced to grow too 
rampant. 
The red and white varieties require the 
same cultural treatment, and, when grown 
as trained pot specimens, must, as they get 
big enough to need it, have large pots. 
They will succeed in either peat or loam, 
or a mixture of both; but where good peat 
containing plenty of vegetable fibre can be 
had it should be used. They are strong- 
rooted plants, and do not require the soil 
to be broken very fine, but, as the character 
of the roots is such that they do not lke 
shaking out so as to renew the material, it 
is necessary that whatever is used should 
be of a description to’ last long before it 
becomes adhesive, consequently plenty of 
sand must be added —one sixth or seventh, 
according to the character of the soil, will 
not be too much; from the quantity of 
water required it is necessary that the 
drainage should be ample and sufficiently 
secured from the soil getting washed down 
into it by a layer of sphagnum or turfy 
fibre. As will be easily understood from 
the comparatively low summer tempera- 
ture of the native country, they are here 
early excited into growth, which neces- 
sitates their being potted correspondingly 
soon in the season, for they do not like any 
interference with the roots when growth is 
in progress. They are not, however, plants 
that will show the effects of such treatment 
as some things would, but when subjected 
to this usage they "do not increase in 
strength so fast as if managed more in ac- 
cordance with their requirements. 
In selecting plants for growing on see 
that they are free from scale insects, as 
both the white and brown species will live 
on them; if buta trace of the former can be 
