* 
CUSCUTA. 
Wild British flowers, resembling the 
Silene, or Catchfly. 
Cu'puea. — Lythrdcee. — South 
American plants#with very curious 
flowers, some of which are half- 
hardy annuals, and some stove- 
shrubs. ‘They require a moist rich 
soil, and a shaded situation. 
Cuscu‘ta. — Convolruldcee. — 
The Dodder. Parasitical plants, 
which are sometimes grown in 
greenhouses ; are objects of curiosi- 
ty. 
seeds should be sown in a pot, in 
which is growing a common horse- 
shoe geranium (Pelargénium zo- 
nale.) As soon as the seed of the 
Cuscuta begins to germinate, it 
sends out a delicate thread-like stem, 
which is leafless, and which soon 
coils itself round the stem and 
branches of the voor geranium, ad- 
hering to them by a number of wart- 
like protuberances, or suckers, which 
appear at intervals along its stem. 
The root of the parasite now with- 
ers, but the plant itseif continues 
to thrive, as it feeds, vampire-like, 
on the sap of the poor geranium ; 
and it grows vigorously, producing 
abundance of leaves and flowers, 
while the geranium appears to sick- 
en, its leaves turn yellow and drop 
off, and it finally wastesaway. The 
geranium should be tall and much 
branched; and when this is the 
case, the Cuscuta forms a very or- 
namental object, hanging down in 
graceful festoons, and producing 
abundance of its glossy pale blush- 
coloured flowers, which are very 
fragrant. Sometimes this parasite 
is propagated by shoots, which 
173 
CUTTINGS. 
Cusrarp AppLe.—See Ano'na. 
Curtines.—It may be received 
as a general principle, that all plants 
which preduce shoots may be pro- 
pagated by cuttings ; though some 
plants are much more difficult to 
propagate in this manner than others. 
Generally speaking, all the soft- 
wooded succulent plants, which 
have abundance of sap, such as 
Pelargoniums (Geraniums), Fuch- 
sias, Petunias, and Verbenas, strike 
When this is the case, the | root readily ; while dry hard-wooded 
plants, such as Heaths, and the 
different kinds of Epacris, are very 
difficult to strike. ‘The usual direc- 
tions for striking cuttings are, to prt 
them in pure sand, and to cover 
them with a bell-glass; and this 
may be done as a precautionary 
method with all cuttings, though it 
is only essential with those that are 
difficult to strike. Some cuttings 
are directed to be made of the old 
wood, and some of the young tender 
shoots of the current year ; in gene- 
ral, however, the safest plan is, to 
take off the shoot just below where 
the young wood is united to that of 
the previous season, so that a small 
portion of the old wood may remain 
attached to the cutting. The shoot 
should be cut off with what garden- 
ers call a clean cut (as, if it be 
bruised, or left jagged or uneven, 
it most probably will not grow 3) 
and it should be planted in sandy 
soil, to ensure drainage, as the cut- 
ting will rot, or, as gardeners term it, 
damp off, if water in a stagnant 
state be suffered to remain round it. 
When the cutting is put into the 
ground, the earth should be made 
should be wrapped in wet moss, and | quite firm to its lower end; as, if 
tied on the plant to which they are | any space be left below it, the roots 
to adhere. ‘Two species of Cuscuta 
are natives of Britain, and are very 
troublesome in cat-fields; but the 
other kinds are natives of the South 
of Europe and the tropics. The 
handsomest species, C. verrucosa, 
is from Nepal. 
15* 
will wither as soon as they shoot 
forth. Cuttings are considered most 
likely to succeed when taken from 
the horizontal branches of the plant, 
nearest the ground; and as least 
likely to strike root, when taken 
from the upright shoots at the sum- 
