148 Foreign J^otices. 



por, it ascends through the pebbles and moss, and will be found greatly 

 to forward the jrrowth of the culliiigs. This method answers well for 

 cuttings of he;iths. Every one who has been in the habit of propaga- 

 ting heaths must be aware that, when not properly drained, or if water 

 is allowed to stand about them, they turn black, and at last damp off. 

 By using the inverted pot, a i(ood quantit}- of pebliles, with a covering 

 of s])ongy ]>eat, [lieath soil,] and about two inches of sand, no iiottom 

 heat being required, any gariiener may be successful in propagating all 

 the Cape ericas. Particular care ought to be taken, in watering cut- 

 tings of heaths, never to allow them to be completelv dried up, as noth- 

 ing is more injurious to this tribe of plants in all stages, whetlier cut- 

 tings or specimens." [We should think this mode to be of considera- 

 ble value. Any system which has the ap]>earance of being new is de- 

 serving of extensive trial, and its merits fully ascertained. It is well 

 known that of the heath cuttings which die, nearly all are caused by 

 dampness. We shall lie glad to know the results, if any of our friends 

 adopt the mode. — Ed.] 



The Cactus tribe. — I am a great admirer of the Cactus tribe, of 

 which we have a very good collection; but none of them, in my o{)in- 

 ion, can claim our admiration more than Epi|:hyllum truncatnm, })ar- 

 ticularly when grafted on any other kinds, such as Pere.^km acultata, 

 Cereus speciosissimus, or, what is the best of all stocks, Opuntia bra- 

 siliensis, of which I have several grafted plants, and on which stock E. 

 trunc^tum does, indeed, grow to very great perfection. 1 have one 

 plant, which I grafted, two years since, on a stock four feet high, which 

 has now one hundred and nine flowers ojien upon it. Nothing can be 

 more splendid than this plant, when well grown, with its pendulous 

 branches falling in all directions. This is, also, by far the best way to 

 grow Cereus flagellifdrmis. Sec, which can be trained very gracefully 

 on a light wire trellis, ascending to the taste of the grower. — {Gard. 

 Mag:) 



lioyal Society and Central School of Horticulture and ^Agriculture. — 

 This is the name of a new societ}- which bus lately been established in 

 London, under the highest patronage. The objects are general. It is 

 not intended as a rival to either the London Horticultural Society or the 

 Metropolitan Society of Florists and Amateurs, but is established for 

 the sole purpose of encouraging a greater taste for gardening, and by 

 the liberal award of premiums in every department of both horticul- 

 ture and agriculture, to create emulation and consequently improve- 

 ment in the science. The principal features which w ill distinguish it 

 are the following: — A Library of Reference; Lectures on liotany; 

 Horticulture and Agriculture; Exhibitions of fine specimens of Pro- 

 .duce and Implements of Husbandr^^, and Improvements in Horticultu- 

 ral and Agricultural Ap[)aratuses. 



The days of exhibition are fixed on the third Saturday in each month, 

 the year round, and not to be altered. The society has taken the Egyf>- 

 tian Hall, Piccadilly, a central situation. It has been got uj) by indi- 

 vidual enterprise, and Mr. Glennj', the editor of the Hortictdtural 

 Journal, has been one of tlie most active. We have no doubt it will 

 become one of the most useful societies in Britain. The third <"xliibi- 

 tion was held on Satur<lay, Dec. 9, 1837, and was one of the finest dis- 

 plays ever seen. We shall occasionally notice these exhibitions, and 

 give tlie results when interesting. — Ed. 



AFRICA. 



Hydrangea hedges in the Island of Madeira. — All the hedges of hy- 

 drangea planted on the mountains around Funchal bear only blue flow- 



