530 GENERAL REVIEW. 



Calceolaria (Slipperworts). A well-known genus of per- 

 ennial herbaceous plants or shrubby evergreens, principally 

 natives of Chili and Peru, one species, C. Fothergilli, being a 

 native of the barren coast of the Falkland Islands. C.flori- 

 bunda, a yellow-flowered species, is one of the hardiest in the 

 group, and was introduced in 1843 from the Andes of Quito, 

 where it is found at an altitude of 10,000 to 11,000 feet. C. 

 scabioscefolia is quite hardy in some gardens, where it becomes 

 naturalised as an annual. It was introduced from Chili in 

 1822, and, though not so showy as some others, might be valu- 

 able for hybridising purposes on account of its hardy character 

 and elegant habit. C. amplexicaulis, a pure, yellow-flowered, 

 tall-growing species, introduced from Peru in 1845, is still cul- 

 tivated in gardens in its pure state as a bedding -plant. C. 

 Fothergilli was the first species cultivated in this country, having 

 been introduced so early as 1777, and this was followed by C. 

 corymbosa, C. integrifolia, and its narrow-leaved variety, angusti- 

 folia, and C. scabiosczfolia, all introduced from Chili in 1822. 

 All the species may be propagated freely, either from cuttings 

 of the young herbaceous growth, or from seeds sown in a gentle 

 bottom-heat either as soon as ripe in autumn or early in the 

 spring. Seed is saved from bright-coloured, well-shaped varie- 

 ties, and fifty well-grown plants produce about i oz. of seed, 

 this being worth about ^10. Seed for summer blooming 

 should be sown in August in well -drained pots or seed- 

 pans : cover the drainage with fibrous loam, and fill up with 

 fine light sandy earth; water with a fine-rose watering-pot, 

 after which sow the seed, placing a piece of glass over the 

 pot to retain moisture, no covering of soil being required. 

 Place the pots in a frame or under a bell-glass, taking care 

 to shade from the sun. Remove the piece of glass as soon 

 as the plants are up, and when large enough to handle, prick 

 off one inch apart into pans made up as before ; place in a 

 somewhat close situation, and when of sufficient size pot off 

 singly. All the dwarf-habited, large-flowered, richly-spotted 

 varieties belonging to the "florists'" or herbaceous section 

 have been brought to their present state of perfection by hy- 

 bridising and careful selection. In some species of Calceolaria 

 the style is exserted and receptive before the pollen is dis- 

 charged from the anthers, as if naturally to facilitate fertilisation 

 by the pollen from other more fully developed flowers on the 

 same plant. This circumstance renders artificial cross-fertili- 

 sation or hybridisation comparatively easy. In C. Pavonii, 

 a large and showy, half-hardy, yellow-flowered species, with 



