180 STOVE PLANTS. 



85° to start them, and after they have attained some size, 

 gradually inure them to cooler treatment. The soil we have 

 found them succeed well in is good rough turfy loam and 

 well-decomposed manure, in about equal parts, adding a 

 good portion of river sand. We prefer large round wicker 

 baskets to pots to grow them in, as they can thus be supphed 

 with more soil than in any pot that can be used, and the 

 baskets last well for a season. In winter, when the roots 

 are resting, they must be kept in water and not dried ; the 

 temperature during this resting period should not be lower 

 than about 45°. 



N. ccerulea. — A lovely plant, which was no doubt held in 

 great estimation by the ancient Egyptians, as it so fre- 

 quently occurs on their monuments and in their hiero- 

 glyphical writings. The leaves are peltate, nearly entire, 

 bright green ; the flowers are blue, most delicately scented, 

 and produced abundantly all through the summer. Native 

 of Egypt. 



N. dentata. — This magnificent species has very large, 

 peltate, dark green leaves, serrated at the margins. We have 

 seen them grown upwards of two feet in diameter, and the 

 plants twenty feet across. The flowers are of great size, 

 measuring from six to fourteen inches in diameter, many- 

 petaled, and pure white ; it is a most profuse flowerer. 

 Native of Sierra Leone. 



N. Devoniensis.—A splendid free-flowering variety, with 

 leaves somewhat like the preceding. The flowers are a 

 brilliant red, and measure five or six inches in diameter. 

 If allowed, it will bloom without intermission the whole 

 season. A garden hybrid. 



IV. fjigantea. — The leaves of this species are peltate, 

 smooth, and dark green. The flowers are of a beautiful 

 blue. Up to the present time we have not seen flowers 



