NEPENTHES. 
Bornean species of these singular stove 
plants became sufficiently plentiful to be 
procurable, many people who had the con- 
venience of a stove attempted their cultiva- 
tion, but in most cases with indifferent 
success, no doubt through comparatively 
little being known of the course of treat- 
ment that they require. A knowledge of 
the temperature and humidity of the 
atmosphere whence they came was enough 
to point conclusively to the fact that without 
the means of, at all times in the year, being 
able to accommodate them with as much 
heat as most hot-region plants require, it 
is of little use attempting to grow them, as 
though they may be kept alive with less 
than this, they will never acquire the 
strength necessary to produce their curious 
pitcher-like leaves in the manner required 
—and without these there is little interest 
attached to them. Another and frequent 
cause of the plants forming pitchers but 
very sparingly, even when they grew in 
other ways freely, was either too much 
shading, or what amounts to much the 
same thing, a position too far from the 
glass. For with only one exception, and 
that N. lanata, among all we have grown, 
we have found that if their heads are kept 
within a few inches of the glass they 
succeed best, having a strength and vigour 
in both root and top growth not attainable 
by any other means; and, as might 
naturally be supposed, the pitchers acquire 
a higher degree of colour when kept up 
close to the roof. Another matter of more 
importance with these plants than any 
others in cultivation, is never to injure the 
roots in potting, for if this should occur to 
an extent that would scarcely have any 
perceptible effect upon most things, it will 
in all probability cause their death, or bring 
about a condition little better than actual 
loss. We may here remark, for the benefit 
of those who have not had any experience 
at all with them, that their roots are so 
fragile and dead looking, even when the 
plants are in every way healthy, that we 
have known them all pulled off under the 
impression that they were dead. They 
are very spare rooters, needing much less 
room than most things, and when repotting 
becomes requisite, there must be no 
attempt at shaking any of the old soil 
away. Consequently from the first it is 
necessary that the material they are grown 
in should be such as is least likely to get 
into a decomposed state, for when it is close 
and soapy the roots cannot live in it, and 
from the large amount of water they 
always want it is liable to become sour— 
when in active growth they need watering 
freely every day, and during the winter 
Greenhouse and Stove Plants. 257 
must be kept much more moist than the 
generality of plants. Even under the 
most successful course of treatment, there 
will be aspace of four or five years from the 
time a young plant is first well rooted 
until it arrives at a size that will exhibit 
the full development of which it is capable ; 
for, not until it has been twice headed 
back, and has again got furnished with 
from four to six shoots, each bearing their 
full complement of pitchers, has all that 
is desirable been attained. Consequently 
it will be easily understood that the best 
and most lasting material that it is possible 
to find wherein to grow the plants will 
eventually get so completely decomposed 
through the necessity of its being kept all 
but saturated with water, that it becomes 
like soft putty, in which condition the 
roots cannot exist ; and, as already stated, 
they are so brittle that the old material 
cannot be got away in the ordinary manner, 
but this can be effected by means of a pail- 
ful of tepid water in which the ball should 
be plunged with both hands under it, and 
the exhausted matter got away by carefully 
moving the fingers. With a little time and 
patience in this way the roots can be 
wholly preserved in a perfectly clean state 
ready for transferring to a fresh pot with 
new soil; but on no account should there 
be any attempt at opening them out, as 
this will most likely end in their being 
much injured. The best kinds, such as N. 
sanguinea, N. Rafflesiana, and N. lanata, 
are more tender-rooted than the commoner 
species. About the end of February or 
March is the most suitable time in the year 
for either shifting on into larger pots those 
young and medium-sized plants that want 
more root-room or for washing out, as above 
described, any older examples that need 
entirely new material. Pots proportionately 
so large as would be required for the 
generality of plants would not do for 
Nepenthes, as if too great a body of soil is 
present it gets sour directly. The largest 
specimens we ever had were grown in pots 
not more than 10 or 12 inches in diameter. 
The manner these plants are often allowed 
to run up straggling to a considerable 
height on a rafter or pillar is not the way 
for seeing them to the most advantage, as 
when the shoots of the best sorts have 
attained 4 or 5 feet in height—with some 
much less than this—the pitchers assume 
a character which is understood amongst 
erowers as run-out; that is, they come 
devoid of their wing-like appendages and 
are very different in form from those that 
are produced by the leaves on the stems 
before they get such a height. The best 
position for them is hung up to the ridge 
17 
