G4 BRIEF REMARKS. 



there was a Peony ; there was plenty of room for the growth of the 

 Peonies, they had plenty of air and light, were never disturbed in any 

 way, and bore magnificent flowers, which produced a very fine effect. 

 I have never since seen so beautiful a plantation. 



The ground intended for Peonies must be well dug and loosened at 

 least three feet deep, so that the roots, which spread in every direction, 

 may act freely and for a long time; for these plants will continue to 

 flourish for forty or fifty years, without showing any symptoms of 

 decay, provided always they are never disturbed. The Peony is one 

 of the few plants not attacked by grubs and insects; this is true of all 

 its varieties. The earwig alone is sometimes found among the petals ; 

 but they do not stay long, as the first fall of rain or heavy dew causes 

 them to decamp. 



What we have said about the preparation of the earth is of special 

 importance when we are dealing with the Chinese Peonies, for their 

 roots are as long again as those of the common variety, and their stems 

 cannot acquire their proper height ; nor can their flowers attain per- 

 fection unless there is a plentiful supply of nourishment. Paeonia 

 edulis requires peculiar attention, for its stems naturally grow three, 

 four, or four and a half feet high. 



Peonies are extremely useful for decorating gardens, as the quality 

 of the soil is not of great consequence, and the beauty and odour of the 

 flowers are of the highest degree of merit. 



BRIEF REMARKS. 



Poinsettia pulcherrima. — All who have a stove should cultivate 

 this plant, whose beautiful floral leaves or bracts create a gay appear- 

 ance for about three months during the dullest time of the year, and 

 even a small piece introduced into a bouquet is sure to be admired. 

 "When I cut down an old plant, in January or February, I select for 

 cuttings those portions on which the eyes are placed rather closely 

 together, and make them into lengths of about a foot, each having six 

 eyes. I insert the cutting over the two lowermost eyes into a tan bed, 

 in which pine-apples are grown. The eyes above the tan will generally 

 all have pushed by about April, and by that time roots will have been 

 sent out from the lower eyes. I then take the plants up carefully, and 

 pot them, shading them from the sun for a week or so ; when they 

 have become well established in the pots, or about Midsummer, I pinch 

 the tops off the young shoots, which induces them to double their 

 number, each shoot breaking at the two uppermost eyes. I now en- 

 courage them to grow vigorously by giving them plenty of heat, air, 

 water, and root-room. I pot them in a mixture of loam, peat, and 

 manure, in equal parts, and keep them growing on until November, 

 when they begin to show their bright crimson bracts, and they remain 

 objects of great attraction during the winter. I have a plant at the 

 present time with eight heads, or bunches, of red leaves on it, each head 

 measuring from 12 to 20 inches across. The temperature I grow it in 

 varies from 55° to 70° in winter, and from 65° to 90° in summer. — 

 /. Rust, Pashlet/, Ticehurst. 



