MISCELLANEOUS FLOWERING PLANTS 127 
be stopped, as these when ripe produce the flowers of the 
season. A half-shady position is best. The following garden 
varieties are recommended : hyacinthiflora alba, white; ful- 
gens, scarlet ; carminata, carmine; ignea, fiery red. 
Erica, Cape Heaths. These are not often seen in American 
gardens; in Europe they are very important decorative plants 
for house and home. ‘There is a great number of species, pro- 
ducing more or less showy, often fragrant, flowers. The propa- 
gation in a house is slow, and it is therefore best to procure 
small flowering plants from a florist. They require the same 
soil and treatment as Epacris, but all long shoots should be 
nipped in order to make the plants bushy. Firm potting, 
careful watering, and good drainage are essential. For water- 
ing Cape Heaths and Epacris soft water is preferable. The 
following are a few of the best: E. Cavendishii, yellow; E. 
caffra, small white flowers, very numerous, fragrant; E. hye- 
malis, pink and white flowers; E. persoluta and P. alba, with 
small red or white flowers ; E. ventricosa, long, tubular flowers 
in umbels, purple; E. vestita and its numerous varieties. These 
are only a few of the more important forms. All Ericas and 
Epacri ought to prove hardy in the Southern States. 
Erythrinas, or Coral-trees, are extremely showy plants of 
the pea-family, hardy in the South. ‘They have trifoliate, 
sometimes variegated leaves, and some species make fine foliage 
plants. ‘The flowers, produced in long terminal racemes, are 
coral-red or scarlet. The plants may be wintered in a dry 
state in a cellar, and should be repotted early in the season. 
Water should at first be given moderately, but very liberally 
later in the spring as the plants develop. After flowering, 
prune back to within a few inches of the stem. The object is to 
produce strong, ripe shoots for flowering the following season. 
