XX. 



THE OLEANDER ; BOUVARDIA ; MAHERNIA ODOR ATA. 



The Oleander is a native of the Holy Land, and Keble alludes to it as fol 

 lows: 



"In the flowery land of Palestine it is always found wherever rivers or water 

 courses invite its thirsty roots. 



The banks of the Jordan are clothed with this beautiful plant, aptly styled "a 

 gem among flowers; and it blooms at the overflow of that river, its roots being 

 then partly nmersed in water; yet it will endure the extreme heat and baked 

 soil of an E istern summer when the brooks and rivers are shrunk into the nar- 

 rowest streams." 



A rich turfy loam must be provided for it to grow in, and from the end of 

 September until March or April, it should receive no more water than will pre- 

 vent the soil from being crumbly ; and during the rest of the year it should 

 have a most bountiful supply, and the tub or pot should be immersed in a saucer 

 or a half tub filled with water. 



It is very easily propagated by cuttings during the spring or summer months. 

 They should be taken from the young shoots and cut off close under the fourth 

 joint, cutting off the three lower leaves, but without injuring the bark of the 

 stem. 



The most simple way of rooting them is in vials of rainwater, hung in the 

 windows of a warm room. The cuttings should not be deeper in the water than 

 half way up to the second joint. In a short time tiny white roots will make their 

 appearance, and when these are about half an inch long, take it carefully out 

 and pot in light sandy soil ; keep moist and shaded from the sun until the 

 bright color of the leaves show that the roots are growing. 



Water and warmth will produce roots rapidly, but cannot sustain growth. 

 So when cuttings are rooted in water, they should be transplanted as soon as 

 the rootlets are from half an inch to an inch in length. 



Dwarf Oleanders that will flower the succeeding spring, when not over a foo 

 high, can be produced as follows : 



Early in September or October, according to your climate, cut three to four 

 joints from a topmost branch, leaving a joint at the end, strip off the leaves, 

 take a six inch pot filled with turfy loam, and a little moss at the bottom of the 

 pot, press it firmly in, and make holes around the edge of the pot about an inch 

 and a half apart, pour into each hole half an inch of sand, and plant the cut- 

 tings firmly in it. Cover the top of the pot an inch deep with sand, saturate 



