256 On the. Culture of the Clerodejidro?i. 



On receiving young plants from a nursery, they will be 

 generally in very small pots, with their roots cramped into a 

 firm mass. The best time to transport these plants is before 

 they have begun to grow. Otherwise, it is difficult to pack 

 them without breaking their leaves, which, when young, are 

 brittle and tender. When ordered in the spring, they will 

 generally be received in a growing state. If in a six inch 

 pot, it should be shifted into one double the size ; the roots 

 carefully spread out among the fresh soil. They luxuriate 

 in a compost consisting of two parts decayed turves, one part 

 fibrous peat, and one part well-rotted cow dung. Let the 

 whole be well incorporated together, and use only the rough 

 lumpy portions. The fleshy roots of these plants delight to 

 ramify in open lumpy soil, where the air has free access to 

 them. The pots should be drained with charcoal, and lumps 

 of the same material liberally intermixed with the soil. The 

 leaves of these plants appear to possess an extraordinary 

 power of decomposing carbonic acid, which is evident by the 

 great power that the roots possess of absorbing carbonaceous 

 matter from the soil. I am of opinion that the clerodendron 

 possesses this decomposing power in a greater degree than 

 any other plant with which I am acquainted. I have tried 

 to grow the C. sinuata in charcoal alone, liberally watered. 

 Its leaves were a very dark green, but its flowers were small 

 and dingy-colored. It grew beautifully in equal parts of 

 charcoal and loam. But the compost I have named is most 

 suitable to all the species. When potted, introduce them into 

 a temperature of about 60^ ; a small pit or cucumber frame 

 is a good place for them while they are small enough to find 

 head-room. In a fortnight or three weeks, they will require 

 another shift, and on successively, as the roots reach the side 

 of the pot, from nine inch to sixteen, and finally into eighteen 

 inch pots in which they will flower. In the early part of 

 spring, they should be aired and watered very carefully, 

 the latter applied always in the morning, and warmed to 

 about 70°. This is of more importance to growing plants in 

 winter than is generally supposed. As the season advances, 

 both may be supplied more liberally. They delight in a hu- 

 mid atmosphere, and shaded from the hot sun. They should 

 be syringed morning and evening with diluted charcoal wa- 



