258 



MY GARDEN. 



rest, when it flowers abundantly in spring, after a little water has been 

 given to it. No plant is more easy to grow if the gardener wills it to 

 succeed, but it is strange that few seldom have that will. 



I have had the Cochineal opuntia, with the cochineal insects, but 

 the punctures of these creatures caused the plant eventually to rot. 



The Epiphyllum truncatum (fig. 526) flowers in winter: it is grown 

 in our fernery. Its pink blossom and elegant form, at a time when 

 flowers are scarce, make it a most valuable plant, which should never 

 be dispensed with. A greenhouse in winter is almost too cold for it. 



Fig. 526.— Epiphyllum truncatum. Fig. 527.— Primula sinensis. Fig. 528.— Primula denticulata. 



The Primula sinensis (fig. 527) is an excellent spring greenhouse 

 flower. There are many florists' varieties, and one raised by Paul 

 is reputed to be exceedingly beautiful. The seed is sown in April, in 

 a seed-pan ; the young plants are transferred to pots, when they flower 

 early in the next spring. There is a great difference in the quality of 

 the blossom, according to the stock from which the seed is procured. 



There is another primrose, nearly hardy, which is most easy to 

 cultivate, the P. denticulata (fig. 528). We also always grow many 

 plants of P. Nepauliensis : they are very interesting in early spring, 

 when they send up numerous spikes of flowers. It is readily pro- 

 pagated by division. 



There is a very remarkable plant called Venus's Fly-trap {Dionm 

 muscipula, fig. 529), which is one of the most curious of vegetable 

 productions. At the end of each leaf is a trap, that closes the 

 moment a fly touches it. The fly dies and decomposes, when the 

 leaf opens again, and catches another. I have flowered the plant, have 



