THE ACACIA PROPER. 15 



is best to sow it in deep seed-pans and set the pans in a 

 cold pit or frame, keeping the sashes close and the seed 

 sprinkled daily until it conies up, when the seedlings 

 may be put outside in a sheltered place until they are 

 large enough to put out into the open ground. The 

 young seedlings may then be pricked off into a bed of 

 fine soil or into other seed-pans or pots, from which 

 they may be transplanted to the spot where they are to 

 remain. The Acacia nourishes well in a porous sandy 

 soil, and will then grow to a good girth, but it will 

 decay much earlier if the subsoil is wet. The grafting 

 niay be done either on the top of the stock or at the 

 bottom, as for the Plum. 



The Acacia proper. 



This class of Acacias are all more or less tender, 

 being only adapted for our conservatory ornamentation ; 

 and although as a class we seldom see any of them here 

 (except the old favourite A. Armata), yet there is not a 

 more beautiful class of foliaged shrubs to be found 

 among all our plants. There are something like 180 

 species and varieties of this family, all more or less 

 handsome, many being of extraordinary beauty, while 

 some are very useful from a commercial point of view. 

 The Gum xirabic commonly sold in our shops is the 

 produce of A. Arabica, a native of the East Indies. 

 The Gum Catechu is from A. Catechu, also a native of 

 the East Indies. A. Lophantha is a beautiful con- 

 servatory tree, and is well adapted for window work, but 

 Armata is admirably suited for the latter. 



All the varieties may be propagated by seed, as well 

 as by cuttings, which latter may be easily struck in 

 sandy peat under a bell-glass in almost any place ; but 

 a small amount of bottom heat facilitates their striking. 

 The cuttings must be of the same season's growth, 

 half-ripened short stuff from the old wood : the base of 

 the cutting must be made clean with a keen-edged pen- 

 knife, or a budding-knife, and the leaves trimmed off 

 half-way up with a pair of trimming-scissors. The 



