BRIEF REMARKS. 1 15 



then the small holes made by the dibber should be filled with sand, and 

 all gently settled with fresh watering, and the cuttings and surface 

 sand allowed to get dry before the conical-headed bell-glasses are firmly 

 fixed over them. They may then be placed in a close frame or pit, 

 about eighteen inches from the sashes, in April, and two feet in May ; 

 and in such a position they will require little shading, and but little 

 watering, until they are struck. As soon as that has taken place the 

 plants must be elevated nearer the glass, the bell-glass removed by 

 degrees, taking it off first at night, then mornings and afternoons, and 

 ultimately altogether. In the case of cuttings struck with so little soil 

 to feed on, and in the case of all plants raised by seed, the sooner they 

 are pricked off the fewer will be the casualties, and the better will they 

 thrive. 



• By Inarching and Grafting. — The first is seldom practised, 

 o wins' to its inconvenience ; the second is often resorted to as the means 

 of procuring a good-sized plant much more quickly than from seeds or 

 cuttings. It is of importance to have stocks of free-growing kinds, 

 such as decussata and dupracea. These should be from two to three 

 years old from seedling or cutting. All that is necessary is to have the 

 stock a little in advance of the scion, and then, provided you can make 

 the inner bark of both unite, it matters little what mode be adopted, 

 though side and slit grafting will generally be the neatest and quickest 

 done. A few twigs may be left on the stock to draw up the sap until 

 the scion has fairly taken. A close frame or pit will be desirable ; 

 and if a little steam from sweet dung and leaves, the union will take 

 place all the sooner, from the excitement and moisture. April is the 

 best time. Air must be given afterwards gradually, and the scion 

 allowed to monopolize the whole strength of the stock. This mode is 

 most applicable for all the low, slow-growing kinds, as thus additional 

 vigour is imparted to them." 



The following are the best sorts, and well suited for the greenhouse. 

 In order to keep the plants bushy, they require cutting in as soon as 

 done blooming ; and if done early in the summer, the new shoots are 

 well ripened before winter. All flourish in a compost of fibrous sandy 

 peat, and about one quarter of turfy loam, a year old, with a sprinkling 

 of bits of charcoal, and a liberal drainage ; compost broken, not sifted : — 



P. rosea. — Flowers a pretty rosy-red. A neat bushy plant, the 

 nicest size for the greenhouse ; is about half a yard to two feet high ; 

 at that height this and all the other kinds are readily kept. 



P. rosea Hendersonii . — The habit of this plant is similar to the 

 other ; but the colour of the flowers is much brighter and more showy. 



P. intermedia. — A neat plant, with light-pink flowers. Blooms 

 freely. 



P. hispida- — Flowers vary in colour, from white, blush, to pink. 

 It is a neat-growing-plant ; blooms freely. 



P. spcrtabilis. — Flowers flesh colour, tinged with a deeper, in lar^e 

 heads, showy. It blooms freely ; and valuable, too, as a winter bloomer. 



P. diosmafolia. — Flowers rose coloured ; blooms freely. It is a 

 neat shrub. 



