HORTICULTURAL JOURNAL. 357 



great abundance, the petals, generally five, but occasionally six in number, 

 are stiffer than those of any other of the family at present in cultivation, 

 making it a most desirable acquisition ; the color is a very rich purple, 

 deepening towards the base of the petals. 



Those who have plants of this kind now, should winter them in an inter- 

 mediate or warm greenhouse, and water them very sparingly until March, 

 when, if they are at all leggy, the extreme points should be nipped out to 

 induce them to throw out a greater number of shoots ; the roots examined, 

 and if necessary a shift should be given when the new growth has began. 

 The soil best suited for that young plant is sandy peat and leaf mould ; 

 loam should be entirely withheld in the young state of the plants, and used 

 but sparingly at any time. The shoots should be tied out a little, and 

 allowed to stand and grow in the greenhouse, shifted into larger pots as the 

 roots require, the drainage of the pots must be perfect, and the syringe 

 applied frequently throughout the growing season. But as far as my 

 experience goes the plants should not be turned out of doors in summer 

 time, for the exposure causes many of the lower leaves to turn brown and 

 fall off, while their preservation is so desirable, but I would rather recommend 

 them to be kept in the greenhouse entirely, and slightly shaded in hot 

 weather, and as much air given as possible, neither should the plant be 

 stopped or cut back after the first time ; if done, the plant is apt to break 

 irregularly. I have seen fine plants entirely spoiled by it, the w r ood being 

 hard and the habit bushy and compact. Stopping is seldom necessary 

 more than once. The time Pleroma elegans flowers in England, is from 

 July to September, but it can be managed to flower at almost any time during 

 the Spring, Summer, and Autumn months, and when in bloom, all care and 

 attention will be richly rewarded. 



H. Chitty. 



EFFECT OF FROST ON CERTAIN PLANTS. 



Those who have observed the effect of a sharp early frost on the stems of 

 Heliotropes and other plants, will be interested in the following remarks 

 of the Rev. Mr. Berkeley, which we extract from the Gardener's Chronicle 

 of November 18th. We have frequently seen the curled plates of ice shown 

 in the figure, springing from the stems of Heliotropes after a cold night. 



It is now some years since Elliot described, in his " Sketch of the 

 Botany of South Carolina and Georgia," certain icy fibres which appeared 

 day by day on the stems of Pluchea bifrons, D. C. About nine years later, 

 , v :;r John Hcrschel published a notice of a remarkable disposition of ice 



