CULTIVATION AXD AXALVSIS OF PLANTS. 





apart, in some quiet, sheltered place, the weeds and grass kept well subdued, and a lib- 

 eral supply of water given when required. It will be of great advantage to mulch them 

 with leaf-mold, sawdust or manure, according to circumstances, filling up the interstices 

 between the plants, and completely covering the soil to the depth of two or three inches. 

 As soon as frost makes its appearance, frames should be set over the beds and covered 

 with glazed sashes, and in cold latitudes these frames should be banked with stable 

 manure. In extremely cold weather the sashes will require to be covered with mats or 

 shutters, which should be made close-fitting and weatherproof. Thus protected, they will 

 bloom early in spring, otherwise the flowers will come later, or not at all. The extia 

 labor and expense will be recompensed by the earlier flowering of these plants; and the 

 frames, sashes, mats and shutters can be used for many other less hardy plants after having 

 done service for the Violets. In warm climates these precautions are of course unneces- 

 sary, as there they will bloom all the year round if desired. Indoors, the flowers begin 

 to appear in autumn, and continue to bloom through the winter and spring. 



IL 



\NDSOME, hardy and accommodating, the Weigela, so called in 

 lienor of the German botanist, Weigel, is a desirable shrub of the 

 Bignonia family. The original species, introduced from China, .was 

 designated W. rosea, because of its rose-colored flowers. It is one 

 of the prettiest of the shrubs that have, through the zeal of collectors 

 w ithni the last fifty years, been made to enrich the Flora of Europe and 

 ^ America. The large, trumpet-shaped flowers, appearing generally in 

 jpiS^T^ p.uis at the axils on almost every stem, add much to the beauty of the plants, 

 ' ^\f^ while the foliage admirably supports by its density and abundance the graceful 

 effect. One new variety, called the W. variegata, will often have some leaves 

 entirely white, others green, and still others mixed, all in the same plant. 

 Another variety, the W. amabilis, will flower from May to October, surpass- 

 riegata and rosea, whose blooming is confined to the earlier months. May and 

 June; it also is superior to them in size of leaf. Small specimens of any of the Weigelas 

 may be grown in the parlor, and being hardier than most house plants, are easily taken 

 care of. They should have a season of rest, by withholding water, for one or two months 

 in the early fall, to ripen their wood before being transferred to the house for winter 

 blooming. The same course can be adopted to advantage with those which are to be 

 left out all winter, for if watered freely to the close of the season, the frost would find 

 many green shoots, through which it would seriously damage the whole plant. Being 

 hearty feeders, they luxuriate in abundance of rich, liquid manure during the flowering 

 season, in or out of doors; and the soil in which they grow can scarcely be made too rich. 

 During hot, dry weather, they demand a free use of the watering pot. They can be best 

 propagated by layering or side-shoots; by cuttings, also, if taken whi 

 recn, but these require to be carefully watered and protected 

 390 



the 



fresh and 



the shoots are 

 om the winds. 



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