330 The Lantana. 



May in a thumb-pot : it may then be six inches in height, and have a dozen 

 leaves and blossoms. At once turned into the garden, it begins to grow, 

 and, if in not too rich a soil, will by August be of good size, and a mass of 

 flower, and so continue until the first frost, which will blacken the foliage, 

 and often injure the plant. The old wood is, however, seldom killed : there- 

 fore, after frost, the plant should be severely shortened in, potted, and placed 

 under the greenhouse-stage, where it should be allowed to remain in a half- 

 dormant state until February ; but little water being given, and the heat 

 being not sufficient to start it into active growth. About the middle of 

 February, the plants should be brought to the light, and freely watered : 

 they will soon begin to grow, and produce young shoots freely, which should 

 be struck as cuttings in sand with gentle bottom-heat. 



The old plants may be turned into the border as soon as all danger of 

 frost is over, and will produce an abundance of bloom during the summer. 

 This treatment may be continued year after year until the plants become 

 too large to be easily managed, when they may give place to younger stock. 



The plants may also be preserved during winter in a dry, warm cellar, 

 but not so well as in a greenhouse. 



Some of the species are of low-trailing habit, and make fine beds ; but 

 the greater part of those in cultivation are of upright growth, and should be 

 massed in beds by themselves, where they produce a very fine effect, par- 

 ticularly if the varieties are judiciously selected. Many species produce 

 berries very freely, and thus we have many seminal varieties which are 

 superior to the species : of these, a few of those of recent introduction are 

 shown in our illustration. 



To produce seedlings, we have only to sow the seed in sandy loam, in 

 gentle heat, and pot on the young plants. 



It is difficult to give a list of species as those first introduced ; in fact, 

 the originally cultivated species are now very seldom grown. Their placQ 

 is supplied, however, by a host of seminal varieties which are of neate' 

 habit and of more brilliant flower. These change from year to year ; 

 though with lantanas, as is the case with most bedding-plants, the new 

 varieties are not unfrequently inferior to the old. The following are, how- 

 ever, good varieties : — 



White. — Alba, nivea, Victoria, Candida, Eugenia. 



