248 
aphides will also live on them, for which 
fumigate. 
MEDINILLA. 
Medinillas rank among the finest of 
evergreen stove shrubs, alike handsome in 
foliage and flowers. The latter are ar- 
ranged in gracefully-drooping panicles, 
unlike anything else to which they can be 
compared, and the plants themselves are 
among the freest of free growers. They 
may be cultivated with success even by 
those who have not had much experience 
in plant growing ; still, although deserving 
of general cultivation where sufficient room 
exists in which to grow them, they are 
hardly suitable for small houses, for, 
though their natural free disposition to 
flower is such that they will bloom in a 
small state, the grand appearance possessed 
by a fully-developed specimen cannot be 
realised in the shape of a small plant. 
Being indigenous to hot countries, it is 
useless attempting the cultivation of Medi- 
nillas where a sufficiently high tempera- 
ture cannot be maintained. To have full 
justice done to them, they require a good 
light house, where the growth, as it is 
formed, is of such a character as to promote 
the natural free development of flowers ; 
for although they need a process of ripening 
the wood by means of dry treatment in 
autumn, this will not bring out the full 
disposition to flower to the extent that 
results from the growth being made under 
the gradual solidifying process effected in a 
house under a maximum amount of light. 
Another great advantage arising from their 
being cultivated under the conditions here 
recommended is that the wood produced is 
short jointed and the foliage comparatively 
small, a state that admits of the plants 
when in flower being much more profusely 
clothed with bloom than they otherwise 
would be. 
Cuttings taken off in April, or as soon as 
young growth is produced and half ripened, 
strike readily inserted singly in 3-inch or 
4-inch pots half filled with finely-sifted 
sandy soil, the upper portion all sand ; 
they must be kept moist and covered, but 
not too closely, with a bell-glass. Cuttings 
thus put in in a night temperature of 70°, 
and proportionately higher in the daytime, 
will root in three weeks or a month ; then 
gradually tilt the glasses and ultimately 
dispense with them altogether, inuring the 
plants by degrees to the ordinary atmo- 
sphere of the house. By the time they 
have made one pair of young leaves they 
will require more root-room, and should 
have their points pinched out to cause 
Greenhouse and Stove Plants. 
MEDINILLA, 
them to break. Medinillas are free-rootiny 
subjects, and will bear moving into pots 4 
inches or 5 inches larger than those they 
are in at this shift. They will succeed in 
either peat or loam, but we prefer the 
latter, though in it the foliage will not 
possess quite so much of the generally 
prized dark green tint that it will acquire 
in peat. This is, however, counterbalanced 
by the habit being made more sturdy and 
close. Through the summer they will bear 
as high a temperature as most stove plants 
receive—say 70° at night, and from 80° to 
90° by day during sunny weather ; syringe 
them freely at the time of closing the house 
in the afternoon, and give plenty of water 
at the roots. In very bright weather they 
will require a thin shade for a few hours 
during the middle of the day, but on no 
account should they be subjected to the 
darkening process which stove plants, 
collectively, have often to withstand. An 
impression sometimes prevails that it is 
necessary to keep out a portion of the light ; 
whereas all that is wanted is simply to 
break the sun’s rays. Medinillas should, 
therefore, always be placed at that end of 
the stove wherein are located such plants 
as require the least shading. The natural 
habit of Medinillas is such as to need but 
little support ; a stick to the centre shoot 
and one to each of the side branches will 
be sufficient. The shoots will very likely 
again require stopping at the end of July 
or beginning of August. It is necessary to 
attend to this in the first stages of the 
plant’s existence, so as to secure a sufficient 
number of shoots near the base. By the 
end of August shading should be dispensed 
with altogether. In the following month 
give more air and cease syringing overhead, 
which will gradually induce a state of rest. 
A night temperature of 60° through the 
winter will answer with a little more 
warmth during the day, and just sufficient 
water at the root to keep the soil from 
getting too dry. By the end of February 
the temperature should be raised 5° at 
night and 8° or 10° by day, with sun-heat. 
Commence syringing again as soon as the 
plants exhibit signs of growth, when they 
may be potted; a 6-inch or 8-inch shift 
will not be too much if they are plentifully 
supplied with roots, and this time the loam 
may be used in a more lumpy state than 
hitherto. Put plenty of crocks in the 
bottom of the pots and secure them well 
from soil getting amongst them, as these 
plants, with their large amount of leaf- 
surface, require a copious supply of water 
during the growing season. Owing to the 
natural disposition which the branches 
have to ramify, there will be no further 
