256 ORNAMENTAL FOLIAGE PLANTS. 



and leaf mould, to which should be added a liberal quantity 

 of clean river sand. Drain well, and water copiously. 

 They are mostly increased by suckers, which are thrown 

 up during the time of fruiting, but ^ome few kinds, such 

 as M. ensete and M. superha, never produce suckers, and 

 consequently must be increased by seeds. The varieties 

 which yield suckers would appear to have been altered in 

 character by cultivation, since their fruits never contain 

 seeds. Musas are well adapted for oat-door decoration in 

 the sub-tropical garden, if thoroughly sheltered places be 

 chosen for them, and their broad and handsome leaves give 

 a truly tropical appearance to the garden. 



M. OavendisMi. — A dwarf-growing kind, seldom exceed- 

 ing five or six feet in height. The leaves are oblong, two 

 to three feet in length, and one to two feet wide, deep 

 green. It is a very ornamental plant, and gives a very 

 tropical appearance to the stove, and also the sub-tropical 

 garden. It does not require great heat to bring it to a 

 fruiting state, and on account of its low stature it can be 

 easily accommodated. It is sometimes grown under the 

 name of M. sinensis. Native of China. 



M. ensete. — This is the most gigantic species of th& 

 genus, and, although it has such a succulent appearance, 

 it not only stands uninjured in the open air during sum- 

 mer, but actually makes growth if a sheltered place is 

 selected for it. In the open air the leaf stalks appear to> 

 grow somewhat shorter, which will be the means of adding, 

 strength to the plant, enabling it the better to support the 

 large leaves. It attains a height of twenty feet or more. 

 The leaves themselves are oblong in shape, about sixteen 

 feet long and four feet wide, of a beautiftd bright green ; 

 the mid-rib very stout, and of a deep red colour. This 

 splendid species never produces suckers, so that when it 



