NOVEMBER 87 



lofty soever their pursuits and pretensions may be.' 

 The flowers are beautifully drawn and delicately col- 

 oured, one on a page — not on the same principle as 

 'The Botanic Garden.' But it is as full as that is of 

 interesting information, not the least, perhaps, being 

 the derivation of the names of plants, some of which we 

 use every day. For instance, 'Echeveria' is derived 

 from M. Bchever, a botanical painter. 



Huphorbia splendens is an interesting and effective 

 stove -plant. It is a native of Madagascar, and the 

 name it bears in its own country is ' Soongo-Soongo.' 

 It is among the plants one need not fear to buy, as 

 cuttings strike easily under a hand-glass. I mention 

 it, as I bought it last year at a sale not knowing what 

 it was. Oxalis Bowiei I also have, and try to grow it 

 out of doors in a very sheltered place. Like most of the 

 finer Oxalises, it is a native of the Cape. I was not 

 here, as I have said, in the summer this year; but when 

 I returned, it looked very dried up and unsatisfactory. 

 This is what William Herbert, the author of 'Amaryl- 

 lidacea,' before mentioned, says of its cultivation: ' This 

 most beautiful and florid plant is hardy ' (where mine 

 came from it had been out of doors for years) ' and in 

 the open ground will flower in the autumn.' (I expect 

 a bell-glass would greatly help this.) ' But it blossoms 

 most profusely when kept in a pot under glass, espe- 

 cially if, after a short period of rest at midsummer, it is 

 placed in a stove or warm greenhouse for a very short 

 time to make it start freely. Its flowers expand in very 

 moderate temperature. Like all the Oxalises, the 

 flowers are very sensible to light, and only expand 

 thoroughly when the strong, clear sunshine falls upon 

 them.' These early- going -to -sleep plants are rather 

 trying, as they never look their best when one wants to 

 show them off in the afternoon.' 



