Stove and Greenhouse Plants and Flowers 123 



half-ripened shoots, taken during the spring or early summer, and in- 

 serted into well-drained pots of sandy soil. They must be kept close 

 and shaded either under a bell glass or in a close propagating case. 

 During the earlier stages they make more headway in a structure 

 warmer than an ordinary greenhouse. When rooted and hardened off 

 these Acacias should be potted singly into small pots, using a mixture 

 of loam, peat, and sand. For cordata and Drummondii an additional 

 allowance of peat is beneficial. Directly the roots take hold of the new 

 soil the tops of the plants should be pinched out in ordef to encourage 

 a bushy habit. These Acacias flower during the spring months, and as 

 those which are struck one spring are too small for sale the next, they 

 are as a rule kept for two years. The more vigorous examples are then 

 established specimens in 5-in. or 6-in, pots. 



From the length of time necessary to get well-furnished plants, Acacias 

 of course realize higher prices than quicker-growing subjects. As they 

 flower naturally in a greenhouse temperature they may be used for de- 

 corative purposes in places where other plants grown in greater heat 

 would quickly suffer. Seeds of some kinds can be occasionally obtained, 

 but plants raised in this way do not flower so freely in a young state 

 as those propagated from cut- 

 tings. One species, lophantha, 

 is grown for its pretty Fern-like 

 leaves. This may be increased 

 from seeds sown in heat in early 

 spring, and the young plants so 

 obtained make rapid progress 

 afterwards. It is much used as 

 a "dot" plant in summer bed- 

 ding, [w. T.] 



Acalypha. These are cul- 

 tivated chiefly for their orna- 

 mental foliage, and are now 

 becoming fairly popular for pro- 

 ducing sub-tropical effects during 

 the summer months. The leaves 

 resemble those of large limes or 

 elms, being toothed on the mar- 

 gin, and varying from a deep 

 bronze to crimson brown in 

 colour, and in one case (A. 

 marginata) having the edges 



coloured carmine. The individual blossoms are inconspicuous, but in the 

 case of A. hispida (or Sanderi) (fig. 258) they are produced in great pro- 

 fusion, drooping spikes 18 to 24 in. long, resembling bell-pulls, or huge 

 bright-crimson hairy caterpillars. Other species are Chantrieri, Godseffi- 

 ana, Wilkesiana (or tricolor}, Macafeana, macrophylla, musaica, obovata, 



Fig. 258. -Acalypha Sanderi 



