64 



THE GENESEE FARMER. 



THE PHTGEUUS CAPENSIS. 



DcRiKG the past season we have had introduced 

 to our notice a new flowering plant, the Phygelius 

 capensis, which promises to take a prominent posi- 

 tion in our flower beds. It was grown and flow- 

 ered here, last summer, by Mr. Wm. Bkims, gar- 

 dener to Aaron Eeiokson, Esq., who considers it 

 an invaluable acquisition as a bedding-out plant. 

 The following engra-sing and description from 

 ffovey's Magazine will enable the reader to form a 

 tolerably correct idea of it : 



PHTGKUOS CAPKNSI3. 



" The Phygelius capemis is quite hardy in Great 

 Britain, but requires the protection of a frame in 

 our more severe clirae. It is a native of the Cape 

 of Good Hope, where it was found on the Witber- 

 gen Mountains by M. Drkge, a German collector. 

 In general appearance it resembles a Pentstemon, 

 with a foliage like some of the Salvias. It is peren- 

 nial. The stem la erect, branched at the base, quad- 



rangular, and grows to the height of three feet. 

 The leaves are oval, cordiforra, and crenulate on 

 the edges, nearly two inches long, and supported 

 by a short peduncle. The stem is terminated with 

 a large panicle of tubular, bell-shaped, pcarlot flow- , 

 ers, which are suspended in a manner extremely 

 graceful. The limb of the corolla is divided into 

 five lobes. 



The Phygelius is a very great addition to our 

 gardens, and is destined to become one of the most 

 popular and admired bedding plants, flowering as 

 freely as the Salvia, and possessing the advantage 

 over it of being nearly hardy, and withstanding 

 rougher treatment during winter ; while its showy 

 reddish-scarlet flowers, displayed in great profusion 

 till severe frosts injure their beauty, render it in- 

 valuable as a late-blooming plant. Our specimens, 

 the present year, were planted out in the open 

 border in June, where they were one mass of bloom 

 thi-oughout the autumn. In October they were 

 taken up, potted, and placed in a cool greenhouse, 

 and they are now, Nov. 20th, still flowering, form- 

 ing a pretty contrast with the Chrysanthemums, 

 Veronicas, and other plants, which decorate the 

 conservatory at this season. 



The propagation and cultivation of the Phygelius 

 is very simple. Young plants may be raised from 

 cuttings in March or April, in the same manner as 

 the Salvia. These should be potted off", as soon as 

 rooted, in a good compost of loam, leaf mold, and 

 a sprinkling of sand, keeping the young plants in a 

 half-shady situation until they acquire strength. 

 when they may have a shift into larger pots, and 

 be gradually hardened off in frames. In May, o- 

 as soon as all danger of frost is over, they may oe 

 turned out into the open border, where they wiL 

 bloom from August until October. 



Upon the approach of hard frosts, the plants 

 should be taken up and potted carefully, and placed 

 in the greenhouse or parlor, where they will con- 

 tinue in beauty for a long time. When their flow 

 ering is over, the tops may be cut down to within 

 a few inches of the root, and the plants removed to 

 within a few inches of the root, and the plants re- 

 moved to a cold frame, a cool cellar, or the coolest 

 part of the greenhouse. Here they will need but 

 little attention till the returning season, when they 

 may be again turned out in the open ground, and 

 the second year will form very large and superb 

 specimens, enlivening the border with their gay 

 little scarlet bells, when the early frosts have cut 

 off many of the more tender flowers. 



As a pot plant, we doubt not it would form a 

 fine object for the decoration of the greenhouse, 

 grown with the same skill that Chrysanthemums 

 and similar plants are now cultivated." 



Dwarf Pears. — The Country Ge)itleman says: 

 " We have repeatedly laid down this rule as a 

 guide, that no one should plant extensively of 

 dwarfs who was not satisfied by previous experi- 

 ment or by observation among his neighbors, first, 

 that the climate is adapted to their growth ; 

 secondly, that the soil is right; thirdly, that the 

 stocks are of the best sort ; fourthly, that the cu.- 

 tivation is as good as carrots and cabbages usua.ly 

 receive." 



