General Notices. 229 



ready to receive their second shift. At this time, the plants should be stout, 

 thrifty fellows, with clean bright transparent stems and foliage, and young, 

 lively roots protruding all over the surface of the soil ; and if in this state, 

 they may, by proper treatment, be grown to any size. A good single-stem 

 specimen of Exoniensis, when well grown, should be six feet in height, 

 with branches drooping in regular succession from the pot upwards, and it 

 should be a perfect mass of foliage and flowers ; and other kinds, according 

 to their habit of growth, ought to be equally perfect. To return, however, 

 to the plants, we must now prepare for the second shift, and for this pur- 

 pose a compost consisting of two parts turfy loam, one part sandy peat, one 

 part half-decomposed leaf-mould, with a handful of small charcoal, and a 

 liberal supply of coarse sand, must be thrown together and thoroughly in- 

 corporated, taking care to break it as little as possible. At each subsequent 

 shifting of the plants, excepting the last, the same compost must be used, 

 but at the final potting it will be as well to substitute equal portions of strong 

 loam, and three-years-old cow dung, for the one part of peat before used ; 

 as this will make the compost of a more adhesive character, the plants will 

 consequently not require so much water during the hot weather. 



In shifting the plants, take care to drain the pots properly, by using five 

 or six oyster shells, and some rough charcoal, placing some of the roughest 

 of the compost over the drainage. Remove the plants at each shift into pots 

 at least three sizes larger, for, though it may not at all times be convenient 

 to adopt the one-shift system, I believe there are now no good cultivators 

 who think of practising the old small-shift system. It is impossible to say 

 how frequently the plants will require shifting, but if they are growing vig- 

 orously, they will never go more than six weeks from the time they are first 

 potted until they show bloom, without requiring a larger pot. The best 

 situation for the plants during the first part of their growth will be a low hot- 

 water pit, where they can be kept near the glass, giving them plenty of 

 air both night and day, and abundance of atmospheric moisture, but taking 

 care to shade them thinly during bright sunshine, as the foliage is very lia- 

 ble to burn. As the plants progress in growth and get too tall for the pit, 

 remove them to a house kept at a temperature of from 55° to 65° or 70° ; 

 place them near the glass, give plenty of air and moisture, occasionally 

 moistening the paths, walls, and stages, with clean manure water, and dew 

 the plants over both morning and evening with clean tepid water. 



If these directions are attended to and carried out, there need be no fear 

 of the red spider attacking the plants ; but should that pest make its appear- 

 ance, lay the plant dawn on its side and syringe with clean soot water until 

 every insect is washed clean way. Throughout the whole season it will be 

 advisable to water the plants twice or thrice a week with manure water, 

 formed by mixing one bushel of sheep's dung, one peck of soot, half a peck 

 of guano, and half a peck of lime ; put the soot and manures together and 

 mix them into a puddle with boiling water, and then throw in fifty or sixty 

 gallons of soft water and tiie lime ; stir the water frequently, and after it is 

 quite clear, add two gallons of clean water to every gallon of the manure 

 used, and apply it in a tepid state. It is astonishing what vigor this water 



