130 THE j%oe,AL WOULD AND GAEDEN GUIDE. 



CULTIVATION OF THE EPACRIS. 



[HE close resemblance and near botanical relationship of 



the Epacrids to the Erica?, afford the key to their 



successful treatment. They are so far hardy that a close 



damp stove would soon be the death of all the species 



committed to it, and so far tender that exposure to 



burning sun or frost would be equally fatal. Moderate and gentle 



forcing they bear with patience, but they require at all times plenty 



of light and air, and must be guarded against stagnant moisture, and 



all sudden changes of temperature. In a greenhouse badly managed, 



the epacrises will be among the fir-t plants to perish, but with 



thoughtful and constant attention they make a good return, and are 



exquisitely beautiful in their flowering season, and at other times 



neat and interesting shrubs. All the species and their varieties thrive 



in good peat alone, and require no other soil, with the exception of 



E. micro}>hylla, E. exserta, and E. andromed^flora, which do better in 



a compost consisting of one-third mellow hazelly loam, and the 



remainder sandy peat. As they all flower early in the year, and 



continue in bloom from January to July, it is necessary to give them 



every needful attention during the winter, as the flowering wood is 



then in process of advancement from a state of comparative rest to 



the development of blossoms, and any undue degree of cold or damp 



will render the flower buds abortive. The winter temperature should 



never exceed 50°, nor be lower than 40°, in order to keep the plants 



as nearly dormant as possible without injuring the flowering wood. 



As the season of flowering approaches, there will be no need of the 



aid of artificial heat to the extent of forcing, but a temperature of 



60 p to 70° is allowable, then plenty of air can be given, nnd the 



plants must then have plenty of water, and be scarcely at all shaded. 



As soon as flowering is over, cut back the plants moderately, and 



keep them rather close till new growth begins, which will follow close 



upon the pruning. They may now be treated in precisely the same 



way as camellias and azaleas when making their new wood, and as 



soon as the new shoots are an inch long, turn them out of their pots, 



remove a portion of the old soil without injuring the principal roots, 



and repot in the same pots or one size larger. After this operation 



shut them up for about ten days, and then give them plenty of air, 



and in about fifteen or twenty days after repotting place them out of 



doors in turf pits to finish their growth and ripen the wood for next 



season's bloom. If turned out without repotting, they frequently 



die or become unhealthy and unsightly, and if not properly prepared 



for turning out as we here advise, some similar disaster may occur, 



for the delicate roots of these plants are quite unfitted to bear any 



extremes, and it is for that reason we recommend turf pits, which 



are more uniformly moist and equable in temperature than any other 



kind of receptacle for plants in summer time out-of-doors. In any 



case the pots must be plunged to the rim ; earth or ashes may suffice 



for plunging, but there is nothing to equal cocoa-nut fibre refuse 



lor this purpose, as we have proved by experience. It is such a perfect 



non-conductor, that a mass of it is not soon affected by alternations 



