1 88 GENERAL REVIEW. 



obtained by Mr Hossack, of Alderley Park Gardens, Con- 

 gleton, a year or two ago. The flower owes its " doubleness " 

 to a substitution of petals for stamens, as is the case in the 

 allied Oleander. We presume it is a " sport ; " and if it is 

 so, it certainly should have been perpetuated by cuttings or 

 otherwise. 



Dipladenia. A showy genus of stove climbers from the 

 Organ Mountains, Rio Janeiro, and Trinidad, bearing rosy 

 salver-shaped flowers. They are readily increased by cuttings 

 of the young side shoots, or breaks taken off in the spring 

 with a rfeel of old wood and rooted in a gentle bottom-heat 

 of 70 in a close case. The plants seed freely when artificially 

 fertilised ; and seedlings vary in form, colour, and substance. 

 The seeds should be sown as soon as ripe in a gentle 

 bottom-heat of 65 to 75, care being taken to give ample 

 ventilation whenever the young plants appear above the soil. 

 D. crassinoda is a strong grower, and may be used as a stock 

 for the tender varieties. D. amabilis is a hybrid raised by 

 Mr Tuke, Bramley, near Leeds, in 1862, and sent out by 

 Messrs Backhouse in 1865. It was the result of a cross 

 between D. crassinoda and D. splendens, the latter being the 

 male parent. D. arnxna is another of Mr Tuke's hybrids, 

 sent out about 1868, and is an improvement on D. splendens, 

 obtained by crossing that species w r ith D. amabilis. Dipladenia 

 Williamsii is another garden hybrid, intermediate between D. 

 amabilis and D. splendens partaking of the free -blooming 

 qualities of the former, and the great substance and boldness 

 of flowers possessed by the latter sent out by Mr B. S. 

 Williams in 1874. About 1869 a plant of D. amabilis, in the 

 gardens of J. Waterhouse, Esq., Wellhead, Halifax, accidentally 

 produced a solitary fruit ; and from the seeds it contained, his 

 gardener, Mr Fenwick, succeeded in raising the garden variety 

 known as D. insignis. In 1874 Mr W. Bull sent out another 

 fine hybrid, or seedling variety, under the name of D. 

 Brearleyana. This is a rich crimson-scarlet variety, and was 

 raised by Mr Brearley, a nurseryman, of Halifax, Yorkshire. 



Nerium (Oleander). A genus of poisonous plants of great 

 beauty, represented in our gardens by the common Laurel 

 Rose, N. Oleander, a native of the warmer parts of Asia, and 

 largely grown as a decorative shrub in most Continental 

 gardens. It is readily propagated by cuttings of the partly- 

 hardened wood inserted in moist earth or in bottles of soft 

 water (see Roses). Artificial fertilisation is necessary in order 

 to obtain seeds, which germinate readily in a genial bottom- 

 heat of 75 to 80. For many years after this plant was intrc- 



