ON THE CULTURE OF JUSTICIA FLAVICOMA. 27 



arc kept the better. They will now require to be covered at night 

 with. mats; this must be continued till after full bloom, as any 

 frost would injure the colours, and spoil them. Give them all the 

 warm rains that fall in February, but not longer than six hours at 

 a time. About the middle of February top-dress them with the 

 following compost : — Take of two-year-old night-soil and cow- 

 dung, of each a barrowful ; old hotbed leaf-mould and sand, of 

 each half a barrowful : mix these well together. Remove as much 

 of the old soil from the tops as can be done without disturbing the 

 roots, and till up close to the leaves with the above compost. Cut 

 oil' all offsets, and pot them in sixties. Once a week in March 

 and April, give them manured water, made by steeping pigeons' 

 dung and sheep-droppings in rain water. By the middle of April 

 the flower-stems will have risen sufficiently to thin out the pips to 

 five, seven, or nine ; this must depend upon the sorts ; the middle 

 pips are those to be clipped out. As soon as the bloom is over, 

 unless you wish to save seed, break off the flower-stem, but leave 

 at least two inches attached to the plant. If any of your flowers 

 bloom in the autumn, pinch off the pips, but leave the stem to 

 wither ; for if broken close to the plant, it is a great chance but 

 you lose it. • Supply them with plenty of rain water all summer, 

 and you will succeed. 



There are some few particulars that I did not mention in the 

 description of the repository, such as having a piece of thin board 

 oji each light to overlap the space, to prevent the rain dropping 

 through ; besides hooks and eyes, &c., to fasten the light up and 

 down. But these things will easily suggest themselves. 



Dec. 2nd, 1833. Innovator. 



ARTICLE II. — On the Culture of Justicia Jlavicoma, 

 and interesting Remarks connected with its Botanical 

 Character and Habits. By the Author of " The 

 Domestic Gardener's Manual," C.M.H.S. 



Justicia, as a genus, lias derived its name from an eminent 

 horticulturist of Scotland — James Justice, whose work, " The 

 Gardener's Director," was published in 1784. It contains a great 

 number of species, above sixty of which are enumerated in the 



