of the Leguminous Plants of Australia. 7 



winter season in Britain : those opportunities should be embraced to 

 purify the houses b) r throwing open the doors and sashes, and keeping up 

 a brisk fire in the morning, as often as may be judged necessary. 



There are few Cape plants but what will resist the effects of some 

 degrees of frost; the Plectranthus fruticosus, a native of the Cape forests, 

 is the most susceptible of injury from cold, and, if properly placed in the 

 house, proves a warning thermometer against direct injury, as it is the first 

 to suffer, and consequently show the increasing harm. 



Of the South African Leguminosae, the following genera form striking 

 and beautiful ornaments in their native wilds, particularly to those who are 

 charmed with the outward appearance and varied colours of flowers : and 

 although the nature of the native soil where they are found to abound 

 may be variable, a sandy loam with decayed leaves is the most genial to the 

 growth of most species of Cape Leguminosae, and may therefore be used 

 in general collections. 



Omphalobium, Schotwz, Sophora sylvatica, Cyclopia, Sarcophyllum, 

 Borbonuz, Crotalaria, Cy'tisus, ^(nthyllis, Sutherland/a, Indigofera, and 

 Jspalathus generally indicate the existence of a red sandy loam. 



Jcacia, Virgilia, Loddigesia, Viborg;«, -Rafn«?, Psoralea, Ononis, and 

 Cylista thrive with greater luxuriance on the margins of streams, in 

 alluvial and vegetable soils : but many species of the same and of other 

 genera vary from the general rules, and are found either in pure sand or in 

 stiff clay, exposed through great part of the year to excessive heat and 

 drought, or but slightly sheltered and nurtured by the mountains ; but 

 deriving much of their subsistence from the dewy clouds which those 

 heights, as these clouds pass over them, arrest and condense. So readily 

 do South African plants appear to accommodate themselves to soils and 

 situations, that it is difficult to positively recommend any particular com- 

 post for them in garden culture : practical experience must alone decide 

 the best for the purpose. 



The insatiate desire of novelty is so inherent in man, that the labours of 

 individuals in all parts of the earth are insufficient to satisfy this craving. 

 How many are there who, for want of room, crowd or neglect many fine 

 plants, for the sake of less beautiful and less useful species ! Scientific 

 establishments are not free from this error; and the evil increases, and is so 

 obvious to many real admirers of Nature, that they cannot help regretting 

 the practice ; though themselves verge on, and not unfrequently fall into, the 

 same mania which they decry in others, and neglect to take the necessary 

 steps for the preservation and better culture of old introductions. This 

 unpardonable negligence is particular!}'- exemplified in the Cape genera, 

 with the exception of .Erica and Pelargonium, the cultivated plants of 

 which excel those in their native wilds. 



The modern improvements in the construction of stoves, green-houses, 

 and conservatories, and the means of applying the necessary warmth to 

 them, relieve the gardener of much manual labour, and prevent a great 

 deal of that anxiety of mind which formerly deprived him of bodily rest 

 during a severe and lengthened winter. We still, however, find a few 

 sluggards slumbering at their posts, whose duty to themselves and to 

 their employers can hardly be aroused to activity, by observing occasion- 

 ally the flourishing collections of their neighbours. You will please to 

 remember that it is a gardener who writes this, and does not intend to cast 

 any reflections on the profession ; but he trusts that you will still continue 

 to advise the young and aspiring in their duty, and prepare them for the 

 part they may have to perform on the great theatre of the world. You 

 must pardon this digression, but it obtrudes itself to my thoughts, and I 

 commit it to paper, and fancy to myself that it is not altogether irrelevant 

 to what may follow. Something more than the mere mechanical operations, 



b 4 



