ON STOVE PLANTS. 



673 



interesting variety. They are propagated by division just as 

 growth commences, and thrive in a mixture of peat, loam, leaf- 

 mould, and sand. Keep rather dry in winter. D. musaica is of 

 dwarf habit, with rich deep shining green leaves, traversed with 

 numerous fine white lines on the upper surface, the under-side 

 being deep purple. D. Regina, D. taniensis, and D. undata are 

 also attractive. 



DiEFFENBACHiA. — The handsome foliage of this genus, with dif- 

 ferent shades of green, yellow, and white irregular-shaped spots and 

 blotches, are very ornamental and interesting. They grow naturally 

 in the moist, shady forests of the West Indies and South America. 

 In our hothouses they thrive in a compost of turfy peat, loam, 

 leaf-mould, and sand, in a brisk, moist atmosphere. The acridity 

 of the juice of these 

 plants is very great ; if 

 a stem be bitten it will 

 cause the mouth to 

 swell to such an extent 

 that a person is ren- 

 dered speechless for 

 several days. This has 

 gained for it the com- 

 mon name of Dumb 

 Cane, and West Indian 

 planters were formerly 

 credited with using it 

 as a means of punish- 

 ing refractory slaves by 

 forcing them to bite a 

 piece of the stem of 

 D. Seguine. Propa- 

 gation is effected by 

 cuttings. D. Bara- 

 quiniana, D. Bausei, 

 D. Bowmani, D. Car- 



deri (Fig. 437), £>. picta, D. Regina (Fig. 438), and D. Weirii 

 superba are all handsome. 



Dracaena. — A genus of numerous species and varieties remark- 

 able for the beautiful colourings of their foliage and their 

 diversity of character. They are readily propagated from cuttings 

 of the tops or side-shoots of old plants, by the fleshy under- 

 ground rhizomes, or by cutting the stems of old plants into 

 pieces about iin. long, and planting them in sandy soil in bottom- 

 heat in a propagating-case or under a bell-glass. As the young 

 plants grow they should be potted on in two parts peat, with 

 one part fibrous loam and a liberal sprinkling of silver-sand, 

 plunging the pots in a hot-bed or standing them on shelves or 



Fig. 438. — DIEFFENBACHIA Regina. 



