HORTICULTURE. 



813 



requisite degrees of heat and moisture to promote health and bloom. Many amateurs are 

 greatly misled by the directions given in works on gardening, particularly in those published 

 in England, as to the temperature and ventilation. In most of these works the minimum 

 temperature of a green-house is set down at 40 ; and consequently the young beginner thinks 

 that so long as he keeps his plants from freezing, he is perfectly safe. This temperature will 

 answer for what are considered strictly green-house plants such as Camelias, Rhododendrons, 

 Azaleas, Laurustinus, Pittosporums, and other hard-wooded plants ; but in a mixed green- 

 house, where there is a large proportion of soft-wooded and herbaceous plants, a much higher 

 temperature must be maintained, in order to have them bloom well. For this purpose the 

 mercury in ordinary winter weather should not fall below 60, or 55 in very severe weather, 

 and do not be alarmed if it rises to 70 or 75 on a fine, bright day. The directions given in 

 English works, and too often followed by English gardeners, in regard to ventilation, are not 

 at all suited to the climate of the Northern and Middle States of the Union. Our atmosphere 

 is so much drier, and our winters so much colder, that much less ventilation will answer. 

 The difficulty we frequently have to contend with is, that in cold windy weather we have too 

 much ventilation ; and I am satisfied that if some of my amateur friends would expend a trifle 

 more in cotton, (for filling crevices,) coal and shutters, and less in buying the latest novelties, 

 we should have fewer complaints of the want of bouquets during the winter months. While 

 insisting strongly on a high temperature, let me not neglect to enjoin on my readers the im- 

 portance of supplying the plants with plenty of moisture. The whole matter can be compre- 

 hended in a nutshell keep your fires and syringe going. With a good heat, you can syringe 

 the house almost every bright, sunny morning ; whereas, if your house is kept at a low tem- 

 perature, and you give much moisture, you will find that the foliage will turn yellow and fall. 



My readers will understand that the above directions are given for the management of a 

 mixed collection of plants ; but I would recommend, in all cases where it can be done, to 

 divide your house into two compartments; and in that case you can keep the green-house at 

 40 or 45, and the hot-house at 65, minimum. 



Another very important matter and one without which all your other trouble will be of no 

 avail is the selection of the proper kinds of plants, and also the proper proportion of each 

 kind, as some kinds are much more used in making bouquets than others. I subjoin a list of 

 plants which are almost indispensable for winter bloom, and are yet so easily propagated, and 

 ;it so little cost, that they come within the reach of almost every one. By getting a plant or 

 two, or a package of seeds, of each kind, in the spring, you can by fall propagate a sufficient 

 number to fill your house : 



A LIST OF PLANTS SUITABLE FOR WINTER BOUQUETS, WITH THE PROPORTIONS OF EACH KIND. 



25 Eupatorium elegans, 



25 " salicifolium, 



25 Stevia serrata, 



25 " paniculata, 



25 Sweet Alyssum, 



25 White Candytuft, 



25 Heliotropes, 



25 Mignonette, 



25 Chinese Primroses, 



25 Verbenas, of sorts 



25 Neapolitan Violets, 



25 Bouvardia leianthus, 



25 Poinsettia pulcherrima, 



1'j Euphorbia jacquiuseflora, 



25 Roses, 



10 Wall Flowers, 



10 Stock Gillies, 



10 Scarlet Geraniums, 



10 Cinerarias, 



10 Fuchsias, 



10 Habrothamnus, 



10 Oak-leaf Geraniums, 



10 Epiphyllum truncata, 



From cuttings. 



From seed. 



From cuttings. 

 From seed. 



it 



From cuttings. 

 From offsets. 

 From cuttings. 



Cuttings and seed. 



From cuttings. 

 Seeds and offsets. 

 From cuttings. 



10 Sparmannia Africana, From cuttings. 



10 Spiraea prunifolia, " 



10 " Reevsii, " 



5 Weigela rosea, " 



5 Cestrum aurantiacum, 

 5 Abutilon venosum, " 



5 Pentas carnea, " 



5 Petunia, Cuttings and seed. 



5 Vinca rosea, " " 



5 Lan tanas, From cuttings. 



5 Mahernia odorata, 

 5 Salvia splendens, " 



5 Calla Ethiopica, From offsets. 



5 Acacias, of sorts, See^ls and layers. 



5 Daphens, From cuttings. 



5 Rhododendrons, of sorts, Cuttings and seed. 

 5 Laurustinus, From cuttings. 



5 Pittosporums, " 



10 Azaleas, of sorts, " 



25 Camellia japonicas, of sorts, " 



A few Hyacinths, Tulips, Crocus, and Oxalis, 



and a Passiflora alata and Bignonia venusta 



planted in the ground and trained up the rafters. 



The eleven varieties first mentioned in the above list are indispensable for forming the 

 ground-work or filling up of a bouquet, and consequently a larger quantity of them are re- 



