440 



THE GARDENER'S ASSISTANT. 



ous hybrids have been raised in gardens. They 

 are easily raised from seed, but it takes a good 

 many years to obtain flowering specimens in 

 this way. The seeds should be sown in pots of 

 fine sandy peat in a greenhouse, early in the 

 spring, and covered with a pane of glass, keep- 

 ing the soil moist by periodically partially 



Fig. 544— Erica hyemalis. 



dipping the pots in water. As soon as the 

 young plants are large enough to handle, pot 

 them off singly in thumb-pots, keeping them 

 close and shaded from bright sunshine until they 

 commence to grow; then gradually inure them 

 to more light and air. Nip out the points early, 

 so as to cause them to throw out side-shoots, 

 and the following spring move them into pots 

 a size larger, and treat as hereafter advised for 

 plants struck from cuttings. 



Cuttings. — These should be formed of the 

 ends of half-ripened lateral shoots. The soft- 

 wooded kinds that make early growth should 

 be propagated in the spring. The cutting-pots 

 should be filled two-thirds full of crocks, over 

 these a layer of fine sandy peat surfaced with 

 silver sand. The cuttings should be planted 

 h inch deep, putting them in moderately close; 

 water gently, so as to settle the sand about 

 them; cover with bell-glasses, and place in a 

 temperature of 60°; wipe the glasses daily, and 

 directly any sign of mould appears on any of 



the cuttings remove it or it will quickly spread 

 over all that are in the pot. Do not allow the 

 sand ever to become dry. 



The hard- wooded varieties commence growing 

 later than the softer kinds, and the summer is 

 considerably advanced before their cuttings are 

 fit to put in. Treat them as advised for the 

 soft- wooded sorts. In the spring following, 

 pot them singly in thumb-pots, and keep the 

 atmosphere about them somewhat moist and 

 confined. Stop the points, to induce a bushy 

 habit and to lay the foundation for the future 

 specimen. Their progress is slow in the first 

 stages of their existence, but do not allow them 

 to become pot-bound before shifting them into 

 larger pots. 



Soil. — Heaths require to be potted in peat of 

 a harder or softer character, according to the 

 nature of the variety; hard-wooded, slow-grow- 

 ing kinds requiring the soil to be of a closer, 

 harder description than the soft-wooded, quicker- 

 growing sorts. A mixture of two-thirds of 

 heather peat with one of a softer nature will be 

 found the best for these varieties, and equal 

 quantities of each for the softer-wooded kinds. 

 Good clean silver sand must be added, sufficient 

 to keep the soil open and porous, without 

 which fine-rooted plants of the nature of Heaths 

 cannot exist. The shift should be in proportion 

 to the state of the roots and the nature of the 

 variety. The slow -growing kinds do not re- 

 quire so much pot-room as the freer-growing 

 soft-wooded sorts. Heaths may be potted at 

 any season of the year, but the autumn or early 

 in the spring are the most suitable seasons. 

 The new soil should be made as firm as the old 

 ball, or the water will escape without soaking 

 the whole. After potting, the plants should 

 have less air until the roots get hold of the 

 new material. After flowering, the shoots of 

 the softer- wooded sorts, E. hyemalis, gracilis, 

 candidissima, mammosa, &c, should be cut back 

 to within a few inches of the base of the shoot, 

 keeping the plants on the dry side until new 

 growth has started, when the roots may be 

 examined, repotting if necessary. 



Watering is a most important operation in the 

 cultivation of these plants. They should never 

 be watered until the soil has got sufficiently 

 dry to need it. This operation can only be 

 satisfactorily performed by one who has had 

 a season's experience in the management of 

 Heaths. 



House. — The house best adapted for growing 

 Heaths is a low span-roofed one, standing north 

 and south. No plants cultivated under glass 



