General Notices. 563 



In cultivation is to be found a shrub, in little esteem, called Xylomelum 

 occidentale ; a correspondent, writing from the Vasse River, where it is 

 wild, speaks of it as " a most beautiful tree ; the blossoms are pure white, 

 and their drooping soft wreaths, blended with the stern dark green leaves, 

 are indescribably elegant." All that is wanted to ensure the same appear- 

 ance here is to ripen the wood as it ripens in Western Australia. Perhaps 

 no shrubs in existence are equal in perfect beauty to the Verticordias and 

 Chrysorhoes of Western Australia ; the brilliancy of their flowers when 

 dead and dried is still metallic, and their number is countless among the 

 dark green heathery leaves. We shall never see them thus till their wood 

 is well ripened ; perhaps we may never see them in any kind of beauty, 

 for it may happen that art is unable to supply the requisites for perfect 

 maturation. Let us, however, do what we can. 



Gardeners may rely upon it that they cannot neglect any means of ripen- 

 ing perfectly every perennial plant which they may cultivate. They may 

 be assured that no amount of ripening which they can possibly secure will 

 be excessive ; on the side of excess they cannot err. Let them, then, now 

 that the time has come, put in action every contrivance which their circum- 

 stances can furnish. Spare lights over wall trees, hand-glasses over ripen- 

 ing herbs, warm dry places for potted plants of all sorts ; heat, light, and 

 abundance of air secured by whatever means may be at command. These 

 are what they must rely upon for next year's crop, and without ihem all 

 the cultivation in the world will be of small avail. 



But there is a difficulty in the way. Heat and light are dangerous pow- 

 ers, and will destroy life as well as invigorate it ; and there is always a 

 risk, that in pushing the ripening process to its limits by artificial means, 

 plants may perish under the operation. How to guard against this con- 

 tingency is what no rules can teach. Here the mere art of gardening 

 comes into requisition, and experience alone must be appealed to. No 

 gardener, however, who deserves the name, can have the least doubt as to 

 the way in which the difficulty can be met. — (Gard. Chron., 1849, p. 547.) 



Hints for Amateurs — The following are select, distinct, pot and bedding- 

 out plants, of various colors, for an amateur's garden, and are easily kept in 

 a frame or pit during winter: — 



Geranium Unique, 



" La Belle d'Afrique, 



" Lady Mary Fox, 



" Cottage Maid, 



" Queen's Bouquet, 



" Victoria, 



" Sidonia, 



" Lady Plymouth, 



" Ivy-leaved, white, 

 " " pink, 



" new gold-edged, 



" new silver-edged, 



" Tom Thumb, 



Salvia patens, 



Salvia splendens, 



" chameedryoides, 

 Campanula fragilis, 

 " noliilis, 



Nuttalia grandiflora, 

 Nierembergia filicaulis, 

 Cuphea miniata, 



" platycentra, 

 Aster bellidiflorusj 

 Anemone japonica, 

 Heliotropium Voltaireanum, 

 Gazania uniflora, 

 Mimulus Conductor, 

 Small Chusan Chrysanthemum, 



