May.'] HOT-HOUSE OF REPOTTING, &c. 163 



and preserve them in half dry earth. E. laurifblia and 



E. cristagdlli are likewise often treated as hot-house plants, 

 and in such situations they cast prematurely their first 

 flowers by the confined state of the air. They will keep 

 in perfect preservation during winter in a dry cellar, half 

 covered with earth, or entirely covered with half dry earth ; 

 consequently, the hest and easiest method of treatment is, 

 to plant them in the garden about the first of May, and, 

 when growing, if the ground becomes dry, give them fre- 

 quent waterings. They will flower profusely, three or four 

 times in the course of the summer. 



We freely recommend the last species to all our patrons, 

 confident that it will give ample satisfaction, both in profu- 

 sion of flower and beauty of colour. The soil they are to 

 be planted into should be rich and well pulverized ; or, if 

 they are kept in pots, they must be enlarged three or four 

 times, when they are in a growing state, to make them 

 flower perfectly ; otherwise they will be diminutive. (Soil 

 No. 13.) 



Ficus, Fig-tree, a genus containing about fifty hot-house 

 species, besides several that belong to the green-house: 

 greatly admired for the beauty of their foliage. A few of 

 them are deciduous, and all of the easiest culture. We 

 have seen plants of J 1 . eldstica hung in the back of the hot- 

 house, without the smallest particle of earth, their only 

 support being sprinklings of water every day. F. brdssii 

 and F. macrophylla are the finest-looking species that have 

 come under our observation ; the leaves of both are very 

 large and shading, occupying considerable space. In small 

 collections F. indlca and F, nitida are desirable ; F. repens 

 is a climbing plant. (Soil No. 13.) 



Franciscea, a ne\v genus of plants from South America, 

 containing about four species of profuse blooming plants. 



F. Hopeana and F. latifolia are generally known; the 

 latter possesses all the combined fragrance of the jasmine 

 and jonquil ; the flowers are one inch in diameter, of a 

 rich purple fading to pure white, and blooms the whole 

 winter. (Soil No. 9.) 



Gardenias, a genus containing about seventeen species, 

 several of them very popular in our collections, going under 

 the name of Cape Jasmine, which do well in the green- 

 house, (see May.) The species requiring this department, 



