320 Oleander Culture. 



judicious waterings are enough to kill the best established plants. 

 Good drainage in the bottom of the box or pot will prevent many 

 accidents. In the winter they want very little water. Before 

 watering them, the grower should feel the leaves of the tree, and if 

 flabby, as though on the point of flagging, it is then time to give 

 them water. This applies only for the large plants, the large quan- 

 tity of soil employed for them keeping its moisture for a long time. 

 The small plants must be watered more frequently, but still with 

 great moderation in winter. During the summer water must be 

 given freely, but not in excess. The best time to do the watering 

 is in the morning; and at night the plants will require a little 

 syringing on the leaves, but only in the hottest time of the year. 

 Liquid manure given with great moderation will do them good 

 and quicken their vegetation. The small plants which have passed 

 beyond the hotbed stage should be potted in a very rich light soil, 

 and not too sandy, say nine parts of soil divided as follows : — 

 Three of maiden loam, two and a half of yellow loam, one and 

 a half of old dung mould, one of peat, and one of sand. In pot- 

 ting plants of a larger size, the soil should be a little stronger, and 

 be composed as follows : — Three and a half of maiden loam, tliree 

 of yellow loam, one of thoroughly rotten dung, a quarter of peat, 

 and one part of sand. 



Oleander Culture. — ^Visitors to the Continent in the summer 

 months can hardly fail to be struck with the employment of 

 certain plants for decorative purposes, of which we in this country 

 make comparatively little use. Here, if a few orange trees or 

 Portugal laurels, perchance a pomegranate, are grown in tubs and 

 put on to the terrace in summer time, it seems to be considered that 

 enough has been done in that way. There is no reason, however, 

 why many other plants should not be used in like manner. We 

 well remember the beautiful effect produced on a quay fronting 

 the lake of Lucerne by a number of standards of this kind, in- 

 cluding not only the plants mentioned, but Pittosporums, Yellow 

 Jasmines, Evergreen Oaks, Euonymus, Aucubas, and Figs. At 



