POPULAR GARDEN PLANTS. 



489 



in new and improved varieties. Cuttings of the 

 stems root freely in the spring if placed in a 

 warm moist house in sandy soil. There is little 

 danger of losing them except by their damping 

 off at the base, through over-watering. They 

 soon fill the pots with roots, when they should 

 be repotted into 4-inch pots in May or June; 

 they will not require to be repotted again until 

 the following March, when they may be put 

 into 7-inch pots. They should always stand in 

 a sunny position, quite unshaded, in a warm airy 

 house. They usually assume a bushy habit, but 

 if they show a tendency to legginess the tops 

 of the growths should be removed. It is a 

 good plan to turn them out-of-doors after mid- 

 summer, in a position well exposed to the 

 sun. Let them have moderate supplies of 

 water. They should be removed into a warm 

 greenhouse before the cold nights. Well- 

 established plants should be started into 

 growth early in the year in order that they 

 may make their growth before midsummer, 

 to be turned out again about that time for the 

 ripening process. This alternation of growth 

 and of rest produces in a few years handsome 

 flowering plants. 



Within recent years excellent work has been 

 done in the raising of new and greatly improved 

 varieties by French, English, and American 

 growers. 



The best of the species are: — 



P. AcJcermanni. Stems broad; flowers rich scarlet. 

 Mexico. 



P. crenatus. Stems very broad ; flowers creamy- white 

 and orange, fragrant. Honduras. 



P. grandis. Large flat stems ; flowers white, fragrant. 

 Honduras. 



P. Hookerii. Stems long; flowers with long slender 

 tube, white, fragrant. Brazil. 



List of Garden Varieties. 



Adonis. Large, rose-pink; a good grower, free. 

 Agatha. Pink-shaded salmon. 

 Alice Wilson. Orange -scarlet. 

 Brilliant. Vivid scarlet. 



Cooperii. Creamy-white, a large, elegant flower. 

 Delicatus. Pink-shaded salmon. 

 Ensign. Deep-scarlet. 

 Exquisite. Charming bright-rose. 

 Favourite. Pale-rose. 

 Gilbert Watson. Large white. 

 Hecla. Light crimson-scarlet. 

 Homer. Red, violet centre. 



Isabel Watson. Flat-stemmed, otherwise like J. T. 

 Peacock. 



Jessica. Light soft-pink. 



J. T. Peacock. Rich magenta-shaded violet, large. 



Niobe. Deep-scarlet, purplish centre. 



Olivette. Pose-carmine. 



Orion. Orange-red, shaded with violet-purple. 



Plato. Brilliant scarlet. 



Refulgence. Dark glossy scarlet. 



Romeo. Light-red, pale-purple edge, distinct. 



Saizy Watson. Salmon-pink. 



Sirius. Bright rose-pink. 



Sunset. Fine rich deep-shaded crimson. 



Vesta. Lar£{e white. 



Poinsettia (Euphorbia pulcherrima) (fig. 597;. 

 — This fine autumn- and winter-flowering plant is 

 a native of Mexico. The red variety stands un 

 rivalled for the brilliant colouring of its scarlet 



Fig. 597— Poiusettia. 



bracts, which, when well grown, will attain a 

 length of 9 or 10 inches, lasting long on the 

 plant. The flowers are yellow, but incon- 

 spicuous. There is a white-bracted sort (alba) 

 that is often grown as a companion to the 

 above, but is not nearly so effective, although 

 forming a nice contrast. The double variety 

 (plenissima) has the cymose inflorescence 

 branched, and bearing, within the outer bracts, 

 tufts of smaller but equally high-coloured 

 bracts, which mature in succession, and much 

 extend the flowering season. As a winter plant 

 for a warm conservatory, the Poinsettia has few 

 equals. It can be brought into bloom at dif- 

 ferent times, giving a succession for eight or ten 

 weeks. The flower-like heads of leafy bracts last 

 long when cut, if kept in water. 



