GEEEN-HOUSE PLANTS. 



51 



a mulching or surfacing of leaf-soil, decayed ma- 

 nure, or cocoa-fibre refuse (this last the neatest), 

 which prevents cracking of the soil, and renders it 

 unnecessary to water so frequently, though when 

 this is done it 

 should be tho- 

 roughly, and not 

 in daily driblets. 

 Of course in hot 

 dry weather . the 

 smaller vases re- 

 quire watering 

 daily, and even 

 twice a day ; yet it 

 should not be for- 

 gotten that frequent 

 watering is an evil, 

 often an unavoid- 

 able one ; but to 

 some extent sur- 

 face-mulching pre- 

 vents this, and 

 therefore ought to 

 be renewed when- 

 ever it is needed. 



Next to watering 

 and mulching, is 

 the necessity of 

 picking off aU 

 seed-pods and de- 

 cayed flowers. 

 These quickly ex- 

 haust the plants, 

 growth is checked, 

 and continuous 

 flowering becomes 

 an impossibility. 

 The effort there- 

 fore should be 



made to pick over the plants at least once each week, 

 and to apply manure-water once in the same period. 



Clianthus Dampierii, 



GREEN-HOUSE PLANTS. 



By William Hugh Gower. 



Clianthus. — Pea-flowering plants of noble 

 aspect, well deserving a place in every green-house. 

 The soil should consist of loam and peat in equal 

 parts, with a little sand added. All the tinds 

 require an abundant supply of water, but it must 

 not be allowed to stagnate about the roots, and in 

 summer the syringe must be freely used in order to 

 prevent the attacks of red spider. 



C. pwiiceus — the first species introduced to culti- 



vation — is a native of New Zealand, where, from the 

 appearance of the flowers, it gets the name of 

 Parrot's - bill. The pinnate leaves are some six 

 inches long, and dark green; above, paler,, and 



slightly hairy be- 

 low ; flowers pro- 

 duced in large 

 pendulous clusters 

 from the axils of 

 the leaves ; deej) 

 reddish - crimson, 

 the individual 

 flowers being up- 

 wards of three 

 inches in length. 

 This plant requires 

 frequent pinching 

 in order to produce 

 a bush, as from its 

 natural habit it is 

 more adapted to 

 train upon a pillar 

 or trelhs- work. In 

 many places the 

 Glory Pea, as it is 

 sometimes called, 

 forms a beautiful 

 object planted out 

 and trained upon a 

 wall in the open 

 air, but in very 

 severe weather it 

 should have protec- 

 tion. Cuttings and 

 seeds. May and 

 June. 1831. 



C. Dampierii 

 (Dampier's Glory- 

 Pea) is a less 

 robust-growing plant than the last-named kind. It 

 is a native of the arid desert regions of Australia, 

 and, like so many plants from such habitats, 

 proves very troublesome to cultivate ; nevertheless, 

 the flowers are so gorgeous that when brought to 

 perfection it well repays any amount of care. 

 Hitherto this plant has only been increased by seeds, 

 and appears to be more of a biennial than a peren- 

 nial species. The seeds should be sown singly and 

 should be re-potted in the large flowering-pots at 

 once, as it cannot suffer repeated shifting. The 

 stems and leaves are all covered with long grey 

 hairs, which gives it quite a hoary appearance. 

 Flowers larger than in C. puniceus ; produced in 

 drooping racemes of five or six in a cluster ; vivid 

 scarlet, with a large black blotch at the base. It 

 flowers during the summer months. 



