336 



Greenhouse and Utove Plants. 



TOXICOPHL^A. 



flowerers, and are easily grown and propa- 

 gated. The species mentioned below are 

 especially adapted for baskets suspended 

 from the rafters of the house in which 

 they are grown. In this way not only are 

 they seen to the best advantage, but they 

 also contribute materially to the general 

 effect of the assemblage of plants with 

 which they are associated. One gain at- 

 tached to' the cultivation of these and 

 other plants of a similar nature is that 

 they occupy so little time in arriving at a 

 blooming state after being started. Most 

 of the Torenias are annuals, and can be 

 raised from seeds sown in the spring and 

 treated to a moderate stove heat, but the 

 most convenient method of propagation, 

 when once in possession of the plants, will 

 usually be from cuttings. They may be 

 struck at any season of the year when young 

 soft shoots can be had that have not a disposi- 

 tion to bloom, such as are generally to be 

 found springing from the base of the 

 plants. If these are taken off in August 

 or September and put in small pots half 

 filled with a mixture of loam, leaf-mould, 

 and sand (the upper part all sand), kept 

 moist, shaded, and covered with a propa- 

 gating glass in a temperature of 68° or 70', 

 they will soon strike ; when well rooted 

 they should be moved into pots a size 

 larger, in soil composed of loam with a 

 little leaf-mould and sand added, and the 

 points of the shoots should be pinched. 

 They shoitld be kept on a shelf near the 

 roof so as to be under the full influence of 

 the light. As winter advances keep them 

 in a reduced temperature of 60'" by night, 

 and a little more in the day, proportionate 

 to the state of the weather. Towards the 

 end of February give some more heat, and 

 as soon as they begin to grow freely move 

 them into 6-inch pots, using similar soil to 

 that advised for the autmnn shift ; pinch 

 out the points of the shoots again, still 

 keeping them close to the glass. They 

 will need a small stick or two for support. 

 Give more warmth as the days get longer, 

 and by the end of April they will require 

 moving into the pots they are to bloom in ; 

 9 or 10 inch ones will be quite large 

 enough. When in these the plants will 

 be better hung up in a position similar to 

 that which they are to occupy when in 

 bloom. Should they not seem likely to 

 form shoots enough to make them fully 

 furnished, stop the points once more ; 

 put two or three small sticks so as to hold 

 a few of the growths in an erect position, 

 and let the others hang down. An ordi- 

 nary stove temperature will suffice, gi^'ing 

 a little shade in the middle of the day, 

 with air according to the weather, and 



syringing overhead in the afternoons ; they 

 will soon come into flower, and will want 

 nothing more to keep them in condition for 

 many weeks than a supply of weak manure- 

 water. Before the filants get too much 

 enfeebled with flowering, tov-^ards the close 

 of the summer again strike cuttings, treat 

 them as just recommended, and discard the 

 old stock. 



The stove species that are best worthy 

 of cultivation are : — 



T. asiatica. Flowers purple ; from 

 China. 



T. Baillonii. A distinct-looking plant 

 with yellow flowers, having a purple 

 throat ; China. 



T. Fournierii. A compact-habited species 

 with porcelain blue flowers and yellow 

 eye. 



Insects. — Greenfly is their worst enemy, 

 and, should it appear, fumigation with 

 tobacco is the best remedy. The daily 

 use of the syringe, necessary during spring 

 and summer, will generally be found 

 sufficient to keep down red spider, which 

 also sometimes attacks them. 



TOXICOPHL^A THUNBERGII. 



In this we have a very distinct and 

 desirable stove plant. Its habit is bushy, 

 the branches partially erect, but not very 

 stout, leaves pale green, tough and leathery. 

 It is a remarkably free bloomer ; the 

 flowers are tube-shaped, five-lobed, and in 

 general aspect indiviilually not unlike 

 those of a medium-sized Bouvardia. They 

 are white, deliciously fragrant, and pro- 

 duced in corymbs at the extremities of the 

 shoots and also at the axils of the leaves so 

 freely as to form sprays of inflorescence. 

 It comes from South Africa, and thrives 

 freely under ordinary stove treatment. It 

 is propagated from cuttings of the young 

 shoots taken off in sj^ring, when these can 

 be had in a sufficiently firm condition ; in- 

 serted singly in small pots in sand, kept 

 warm, .shaded, moist, and confined under 

 a propagating glass, they will form roots in 

 the course of a few weeks, after which dis- 

 pense with the glass, and when growth has 

 fairly begun move them singly into 3-inch 

 pots, using good peat and a little sand ; 

 pinch out the points of the shoots to induce 

 the formation of additional branches. It 

 is necessary with this Toxicophlsea to be 

 more attentive in this matter of stopping 

 than with some other things, as it has a 

 disposition to grow up somewhat spare and 

 thin, to correct which timely stopping is 

 needful. If the plants do not get suffi- 

 ciently clothed in their early stages the 

 defect cannot afterwards be corrected ex- 



