584 Short Conmnmicatiotis. 



in acclimatisation, he should make it his foremost object so 

 to condition the plants which he may attempt to acclimatise, 

 as to prevent too luxuriant growth, or, in the words of Mr. 

 Munro, " compel them, as it were, to deposit only a mode- 

 rate annual layer of alburnum, or wood, such as our year can 

 ripen, and thus secure a firm and healthy nucleus for future 

 depositions." — J. D. 



The Result of iMnting a Groicp of Species of Cape Heaths 

 in the open Soil and Air- of Cornwall : connected more or less 

 mth the preceding Subject of Acclimatisation* — Sir, What 

 E. B. has, in p. 245. , said, in his concluding paragraph, on the 

 causes and prevention of mildew in Cape heaths, respecting 

 the trying of them out of doors in Cornwall, prompts me 

 once more to intrude myself on your notice ; and, although 

 my practice does not exactly apply to the hint given, still it 

 may perhaps be not altogether unacceptable. 



Durinor my residence in Cornwall, having a number of 

 duplicates of Cape heaths for disposal, I was struck with the 

 idea that a clump of them out of doors would have a novel 

 effect, and that they, if they flowered well, would make a 

 handsome addition to the flower-garden. I accordingly made 

 choice of a situation ; and, after excavating, and laying a thick 

 drainage of brickbats, broken pots, &c., which 1 covered 

 with dead fern roots and other matter, I covered it with peat 

 earth to the depth of about 10 in., and in the month of April 

 turned out my plants, many of which grew to admiration, 

 and flowered beautifully the following autumn. Having 

 succeeded thus far, and feeling fearful lest they should 

 be disfigured, or, perhaps, killed, by the winter's frost, I 

 proceeded to erect a temporary frame over them, with melon 

 lights, old sashes, and feather-edged boards ; the latter 

 serving for the back, and nearly half of the roof, sloped back- 

 wards, and the old sashes for the front and ends, so that the 

 whole, when finished, looked something like a little green- 

 house. The lights were always off* in mild weather, and also 

 in frosty weather during the day when the sun shone. In 

 the month of April the frame was removed, and during the 

 summer the plants grew rapidly, presenting a most beautiful 

 foliage, with flowers of a very superior character, and, con- 

 sequently, were much admired by all who saw them. The 

 species consisted of iirica coccinea, verticillata, grandiflora, 

 cruenta, ignescens, versicolor, mammosa, costata, tiibiflora, 

 Archevid?ia, curviflora, concinna, exsurgens, vestita, cerin- 

 thoides, ventricosa, baccans, uhria [? Ewerfawa], Sparrmannz, 

 spuria, and melastoma, with some others which I do not now 

 remember. At the end of three years, when I left, the plants 



