118 



Greenhouse and Stove Piunts. 



cocos 



a kindred nature, it cannot bear stagnant | 

 moisture in the soil. The temperature 1 

 diuing summer may be kept at from 65° 

 to 70° by night, air being given in the day 

 when it rises by sun heat to 80°, and the 

 house closed in the afternoon while the 

 sun is up ; sprinkle overhead at the same 

 time \vith the syringe. As autumn ad- 

 vances give more air and less shade, dis- 

 continue syringing, and reduce the tem- 

 perature, keeping it througli the winter at 

 about 60° in the night and 5° higher during 

 the day, giving considerably less water to 

 the soil. Increase the heat 5° at the be- 

 ginning of March, and when growth ha-- 

 fairly commenced shift the plants into pots 

 4 inches larger than those they now occupy, 

 using soil in a more lumpy state than before. 

 In re-potting do not disturb the roots more 

 than can be avoided, but merely remove 

 the drainage material from the bottom oi 

 the balls. As the weather gets warmer 

 raise the night temperature to 65° or 70°, 

 with a proportionate increase by day, at- 

 tend to air and shade as required, and 

 again syringe overhead when the house is 

 closed in the afternoons. Under such con- 

 ditions the plants Avill grow apace, and 

 when the roots have got a good hold of 

 the soil they must be liberally supplied 

 with water. Most probably a few spikes 

 of flowers A\-iIl make their appearance this 

 season, but these are of secondary impor- 

 tance, as the aim of the cultivator should be 

 to growthe plants to as largea sizeaspossible 

 during the summer. No attempt should 

 therefore be made to move them from the 

 stove when in l)loom during the present 

 season. About July they ought to have 

 another shift, this time putting them in 

 15 or 16 inch pots, with similar soil and, 

 as before, plenty of drainage. Give less 

 water for two or three weeks until the 

 roots penetrate the new material, after 

 which treat in every way as in the early 

 part of the summer. ^ As autumn advances 

 again reduce the temperature and dispense, 

 as before, ^^-ith the use of the syringe and 

 shading ; also maintain a drier condition 

 of the" atmosphere, and ^\-inter them as 

 previously. In spring again increase the 

 temperature, and give additional water, 

 ■nnth shade as required. If all has gone 

 well, and the plants have made the pro- 

 gress which they ought to have done, they 

 will begin to push up their flower-spikes 

 about the beginning of May, producing 

 from a dozen to a dozen and a half at or 

 near the same time. It will be better not 

 to move them to cooler c|uarters until mid- 

 summer, as while the spring growth is 

 somewhat tender and the nights cold they 

 will be liable to suffer in a way of which 



there will be no danger later on in the 

 season ; the successional flowers which 

 they will produce AA-ill render them an 

 acceptable addition to tlie conservatory, 

 where they may remain up to the end of 

 August, being placed again in the stove 

 before the weather gets cool. Winter as 

 previously, and in the spring, before 

 growth has commenced, turn them out of 

 their pots and work away as much of the 

 soil from the upper portion of the ball as 

 can be done without injuring the roots to 

 any extent ; regulate the drainage, add 

 new soil, and put the plants back into the 

 pots out of which they were turned, unless 

 there is a desire to grow them on to a very 

 large size, in which case they may be 

 shifted into others 2 inches larger. Treat 

 during the summer as in the preceding 

 one, but this season give them a little 

 weak, clear manure-water once a week ; 

 this will compensate for the want of addi- 

 tional root-room. Their autumn and winter 

 management should be the same as before, 

 in spring removing some of the old soil, 

 giving fresh material in its place, and 

 again assisting them ^vith manure-water. 

 Allien suckers are made they should, as 

 they get large enough, be removed and 

 struck, as already recommended ; these 

 will take the place of the older plants when 

 they get shabby in appearance. 



Insects. — The character of the leaves of 

 this Cochliostema and the continuous use 

 of the syringe during the growing season 

 keep down, as a rule, the smaller kinds of 

 insects that affect the occupants of the 

 stove ; if scale makes its appearance it is 

 easily removed by sponging, and mealy 

 bug can be washed oft' by syringing with 

 tepid water. 



COCOS. 



A very beautiful and also interesting 

 genus of stove Palms, from the fact of one 

 of the species, C. nucifera, yielding the 

 Cocoa Nut of commerce. In addition to 

 this some of the 8])ecies are so extremely 

 elegant in appearance as to Ije ranked 

 amongst the most select of cultivated plants. 



For propagation and cultivation, see 

 Palms, general details of culture. 



C. elegantissima. A remaikably elegant 

 species that attains a medium size : the 

 leaves are pinnate, the pinnae narrow ; the 

 stem is slender, and this, combined with 

 the plume-like character of the leaves gives 

 the plant a beautiful appearance. From 

 South America. 



C. nucifera. The species from which 

 the edible Cocoa Nut is obtained. In a 

 state of nature it is not usually found far 



