42 DOUBLE FLOWERS. 



BORONIA SERRULATA. 



At a meeting of the Streatham Gardener's Society, Mr. Hale read an 

 excellent paper on the cultivation of this plant. " He observed, that the 

 Boronia serrulata, with its fragrant pink blossoms, was a very valuable 

 plant for drawing rooms, &c. He had had the plant under his care for 

 the last fifteen years, and as the result of his long acquaintance, he was 

 enabled to offer the following remarks : — Cuttings will root freely in a 

 gentle bottom iieat, with the assistance of a bell gleiss ; the soil should 

 be rich peat and sand sifted through a fine sieve ; when they are rooted, 

 they are to be potted off into three-inch pots, which are well drained 

 with potsherds and turfs ; they are then placed in a frame where the 

 temperature averages from 50 to 60 degrees, and are kept shaded from 

 the sun. As soon as their roots have reached tlie sides of the pots, they 

 should be removed to a cold frame, admitting no air for the first fort- 

 night, and shading from the mid-day sun ; \\'ater must be used very 

 sparingly for a week or two. To grow large plants, commence shifting 

 as early as possible in the month of February or March, according to 

 the strength of the plants. The peat should be used as coarse as tlie 

 size of the pots will allow, with plenty of sand intermixed. The plants 

 which have been kept for blooming may be shifted as soon as the 

 flowers begin to fall ; then place them in a vineiy or pit for a fortnight, 

 adopting the same precautions as already mentioned ; by this time they 

 may be removed to a cold frame, where they are to remain for the next 

 three months. When placed in the greenhouse, care must be taken to 

 stand them in a situation where there is no draught, as they require very 

 little air and water during the winter months. To convince the mem- 

 bers that the plants sustain much injury by standing in the draught, if 

 they do not die, Mr. Hale exhibited two plants, one in a green, healthy 

 condition, and the other in a brown state; this latter he attributed to 

 the plant standing near a cracked pane of glass ; if left in this state any 

 considerable time, they very seldom recover so as to attain anything 

 like perfection. By strict attention to the treatment recommended, 

 plants may be brought to a great size in a short time. Like many 

 otiier plants, it has now become greatly neglected, in consequence of 

 continued failures. Mr. Claridge could bear testimony to the high 

 state of cultivation of Mr. Hale's Boronias, and also to his continued 

 success in striking cuttings for several years past. Mr. Brown had also 

 seen them propagated with great success by the plan mentioned by 

 Mr. Hale. Mr. Taylor had grown the Boronia for several years, and 

 had flowered them pretty well, but not equal to Mr. Hale's plants, 

 neither in the colour of the foliage nor in the size of the plant. 



DOUBLE FLOWERS. 



What mistaken means are employed for obtaining these, and how 

 many erroneous circumstances are, up to this very day, says the Revue 

 Horticole, admitted to explain the cause of doubleness in certain flowers ! 

 Tlius, for example, many gardeners pretend that to obtain double 

 Brompton Stocks, you must gather the seeds exclusively from those 

 flowers which are the most double. What influence can these flowers 



