128 CULTUBE OF THE FRANCISCEA EXIMIA. 



rous, richly coloured, and appear as well at the top of the stems as at 

 the extremities of the lateral branches. 



Three strong plants of this Franciscea, deprived of their roots and 

 carefully packed, were carried by mules 180 leagues before they 

 reached Sanctos, whence they were sent to Rio Janeiro, and from that 

 town to Europe, where they arrived, alive, in November 1847. Imme- 

 diately after they were unpacked, one of them was placed in leaf-mould, 

 unmixed with other substances ; another was placed in a mixture of 

 equal parts of some yellow earth from Brazil, and leaf-mould, with a 

 little charcoal ; the third was planted in a still more substantial soil. 

 The last gave no signs of life ; the second sent forth with difficulty a 

 few weak shoots ; the first, at the end of a month from the time it was 

 planted, showed signs of vigour, and at the end of three months it had 

 sent out some fine roots, which lined the pot confining them. Guided 

 by my success with this plant, I replanted the other two in pure leaf- 

 mould, but they had suffered so much that it was with difficulty they 

 were brought round. The first, pi'operly treated at the outset, has 

 maintained its superiority over the other two. 



The flowering period of Franciscea eximia is the same in our hot- 

 houses as in Brazil, viz., from January to June. In winter, the plants, 

 both great and small, but more especially the latter, should be kept in 

 a temperature of from 10° to 12° Reaumur (54° to 59° F.) The 

 period of its normal growth begins in December. The flowers are 

 formed upon the young wood ; the earliest appear on the stem and the 

 principal branches, then on the lateral ones, where a succession is kept 

 up for some months. The small plants, which are not more than 

 eight or ten inches in height, have already two or three flowers at the 

 tops of their stems. Perfection is not to be looked for until the plants 

 are two or three years old. The original plant obtained at the exhi- 

 bition of the Societe de Flore, at Brussels, a medal, as the most beau- 

 tiful new plant there. This same plant, which I have never used for 

 propagation, bore in 1850 more than three hundred flowers, from 

 January to June. The flowers, which in form resemble the great 

 Periwinkle, are richly coloured with violet, blue, and white, and con- 

 trasting as they do with the glaucous foliage behind them, produce a 

 most beautiful effect. 



The plants, if they have rooted well, may in the month of March be 

 placed in a temperate house, in a shady and airy situation ; they may 

 be put very well in the midst of Camellias, and left there all the 

 summer ; their shoots will not become blanched, their growth remains 

 vigorous and short-jointed, their flower-buds are well-formed, and the 

 flowers are abundant and last a long time. Towards the end of July, 

 when the young wood is well ripened, the plants may be repotted. 

 This is the best time to repot them, for if they are repotted later, they 

 will not flower so early. 



In October, the plant should be again placed in the coolest part of a 

 hothouse, where it should spend the winter. If these directions be 

 attended to, the Franciscea eximia will be found to be easy of culti- 

 vation, and to form a valuable addition to ornamental hothouse plants. 

 — Gardeners' Chronicle. 





