146- THE amateite's greenhouse 



CHAPTER X. 



HAED-WOODED GREENHOUSE PLANTS. 



In this chapter we shall have to treat of a number of plants 

 that differ wonderfully in constitution and requirements, and 

 therefore it will be impossible to give any general directions 

 for their cultivation on the plan of an introduction. A con- 

 siderable proportion of tliem need abundance of light and air, 

 and the more hardy of their number are impatient of artificial 

 heat, and consequently must not be subjected to a high 

 temperature in winter without due consideration of their ability 

 to endure the trial. Not a few subjects in the list that 

 follows require a practised hand and an experienced judgment 

 for their successful management, and, as a rule, the cultivation 

 of hard-wooded plants belongs to the higher range of horti- 

 cultural practice. 



Abutilon. — These are best adapted for training to pillars, 

 but by a judicious system of pruning, bushy specimens may 

 be produced, which will have a most effective appearance. In 

 a young state the leading shoot will require stopping to en- 

 courage the production of side shoots, and in the following and 

 subsequent winter seasons prune them to within two or three 

 joints of the base of each shoot. By allowing the young shoots 

 to grow unchecked and neatly tying them out, well-balanced 

 specimens that will flower freely may be obtained in a com- 

 paratively short period. The green-leaved species such as 

 A. striatum require a mixture of peat, loam, and leaf-mould, 

 but for the variegated forms, as for example A. Tkotnso?ii, 

 fibrous peat and sand will be preferable. The young shoots 

 taken off in the spring with a small heel strike freely, provided 

 the cutting pots can be plunged in the cucumber or melon 

 frame. 



Acacias. — These may be divided into two classes, o 



