AND CONSEEVATOET. 1S3 



fibre, and chopped up into pieces the size of one's fist. Com- 

 mon garden soil is quite useless for this purpose, as no plant 

 will thrive in it. To induce the plants to root quickly in the 

 new soil, a little river sand may be mixed with the soil at the 

 spot where the plants are to go, for the free-growing kinds, 

 and silver sand for the slow-growing and choicer kinds. The 

 plants should be managed so that they do not interfere much 

 with the light required for the well-being of the subjects un- 

 derneath ; and, though the beauty of this class of plants con- 

 sists in their being allowed to grow in a seemingly natui'al 

 manner, they must not be left to themselves, or they will soon 

 run wild and get unsightly ; therefore they must have frequent 

 attention in the way of stopping and training, and those on 

 the roof must be cut hard back in the autumn to admit plenty 

 of light. Those on the walls and pillars can be pruned at any 

 season of the year, so long as they are kept neat and trim. 

 Grenerally speaking, from October to March is the best time 

 for pruning them. We often hear objections made to em- 

 ploying climbers on account of their shading the house too 

 much, but the objection is untenable. In the summer all 

 plants are benefited by a partial shade ; and what can be more 

 suitable than a green canopy of foliage, from which numberless 

 flowers hang about in graceful profusion. In the winter when 

 shade is really objectionable, the summer growth can be cut 

 away. 



We have thus far spoken as if we were thinking of climbing 

 and twining plants only, but we must include in our selection 

 a few that have no climbing propensities or means of taking 

 hold of support, because of their suitability to the walls and 

 pillars, and generally speaking to improve the aerial per- 

 spective. The very first on the list is of this category. 



Abutilon. — The plants belonging to this genus have large 

 handsome foliage, with beautifully marked bell-shaped flowers, 

 the prevailing colours being orange, striped and veined with 

 various shades of red and crimson. A. striatum and A, vex- 

 illarum are the two best species for covering walls. Both do 

 well planted out in the summer, in a sheltered position, and 

 are propagated by seed or cuttings of half ripened side-shoots 

 in the summer. They should be carefully pruned, so as to 

 keep them well furnished from bottom to top. 



Acacia. — We have several species in this genus that do 



