70 THE FLORIST AND 



Is there not some one strawberry which when mixed with the Hovey 

 seedling will produce larger fruits than others? I have never yet raised a 

 large Hovey seedling, though they have had the best of culture for three 

 years. For two years they were kept by themselves, and the third year 

 were beside a large patch of Slater's Alice Maud. My desire has been to 

 procure a strawberry which did not require the trouble of " mixing in " 

 staminate plants. Is it not the case that certain trees, such as peach, pear, 

 and apple modify the fruits to some extent upon the neighboring trees ? I 

 will close these remarks by citing a case which seems to me to be explicable 

 upon this supposition. Joshua Pierce, an experienced horticulturist of this 

 city, has a genuine Seckel pear on his place, which is generally so large as 

 to be disputed, being frequently twice and three times the standard size. 

 He is unable to account for it, but may it not be the amours of some neigh- 

 boring pear tree, as he cultivates pears largely ? 



Washington, D. C, Jan. 20, 1825. 



ON TROP^OLUMS. 



These are an interesting class of plants, as indeed all climbing plants are ; 

 but in addition to their elegance of foilage and habit of growth, they flower 

 so profusely, and the color and form of their blooms are so rich and curious, 

 that the smallest collection of greenhouse plants should embrace a few of this 

 genus, more especially as they display their greatest beauty during winter 

 and early spring. 



The species are numerous, the kinds more commonly to be met with are 

 T. tricolorum, Brachyceras, pentaphyllum, azuruem and Lobbianum, their 

 native country is South America, and if, as many cultivators suppose, a high 

 temperature is necessary for all plants native of that country, the present 

 subjects must form an exception, as they attain greatest perfection when 

 grown in a corner of a cool, airy greenhouse. The corner, however, must be 

 a light one, they cannot have too much of that if you wish them to flower 

 well. The care they require may be briefly summed up. Early in autumn 

 the young shoots will proceed from the tubers, they should then be potted 

 in a friable, somewhat sandy soil. Perfect drainage of the pots is indispen- 

 sable. But as every one seems to have their own ideas of a perfectly drained 

 pot, I may state that an eight inch pot requires to have at least one and a 

 half or two inches of drainage material in it, to suit my notion on that point. 

 The pots should be large enough for them to flower in, and trellis fixed at 

 once, to which they shonld be regularly trained as they progress in growth. 



