General Notices. 185 



diate house, it will be necessary to place the plants in the warmest corner, 

 and where they will not be exposed to currents of cold air ; a situation 

 ■where they can receive abundance of light, without being exposed to the 

 direct rays of the midday sun will be necessary, in order to have the flowers 

 well colored. After the blooming season is over, the old specimens may be 

 thrown away, to afford space for young plants, which bloom more freely and 

 produce finer trusses. 



The soil best suited for this Begonia in all its stages is equal parts turfy 

 loam, peat, and well decomposed cow or horse manure. The peat and loam 

 should be carefully broken, and used in as rough a state as the size of the 

 shift will allow ; the dung should be carefully mixed with sharp sand previous 

 to being mixed witli the peat and loam, this tends to thoroughly separate any 

 lumps, which otherwise would be sure to form a harbor for worms ; the quan- 

 tity of sand should be regulated according to the nature of the loam and 

 peat, enough being added to secure perfect drainage, as tliis Begonia is 

 somewhat impatient of stagnant moisture about the roots. [^Gardeners' 

 Chronicle, 1852, p. 100.] 



Syon House and Lord Kenyon's Cucumber. — Experience alone en- 

 ables us to correct erroneous views and false opinions. I have for sevieral 

 years lived under the impression that the variety of cucumber known as Sy- 

 on House, was preferable for winter cultivation to Lord Kenyon's. Having 

 heard from respectable authorities that the latter kind is decidedly the best, 

 I am able to state with confidence that it is quite correct ; not that superi- 

 ority exists in its being more prolific, but it possesses a robust habit, which 

 enables it to grow vigorously under circumstances which would be fatal to the 

 Syon House. This I have clearly proved during the present winter, liaving 

 grown both varieties under the same treatment. I have heard it repeatedly 

 stated that Lord Kenyon's and the Syon House cucumber are identically 

 the same ; which is incorrect, although there does exist a great similarity 

 in the appearance of the fruit. Both are white-spined : on the Syon House 

 they gradually disappear as the fruit increases ; but on Lord Kenyon's they 

 remain till the fruit is fully grown. The color of both is a dark green, 

 and about the same length. From tlie middle of November till the end of 

 January, the young fruit will not grow beyond an inch or two long, unless 

 they are impregnated, which should only be done when the flowers are dry. 

 —{Gard. Journal, 1852, p. 99.) 



Veronica Lindleyana. — This graceful plant is not half cultivated to 

 the extent it deserves, the public opinion having in a measure set in against 

 all flowering plants vvhich do not show their blooms in conspicuous colors 

 80 as to be seen in the distance. This spurious taste, for I can call it no 

 other, threatens to throw into the shade many of our most interesting herb- 

 aceous plants, and the neglect with which they are now regarded is anything 

 but creditable to the admirers of Flora. The subject of our notice is more 

 shrubby than herbaceous, and in habit and hardiness akin to the Pentste- 

 mon, only its flowers are axillary instead of being terminal ; but tlie pro- 

 fuseness with which it produces them, and their graceful appearance when 

 appended to a stalk bearing pretty foliage, must, I think, make it a universal 



VOL. XVIII. NO. IV. 24 



