316 



CASSELL'S POPULAR GARDENING. 



many plants of great teauty, and not a few highly 

 valuable from an economic 

 and commercial point of 

 view. 



The species and varieties 

 of Myrtle in cultivation are 

 not numerous. M. com- 

 munis, which is generally 

 considered a native of the 

 South of Europe, is not 

 really so; and though now 

 so abundant throughout 

 Spain, Italy, and the South 

 of France, it has been at 

 some remote period brought 

 into these countries from 

 Persia. It is a plant with 

 shining bright green leaves, 

 which, as well as its pure 

 white flowers, are very fra- 

 grant. Then we have the 

 Double-flowered Myrtle, M. 

 communis Ji. pi., the Box- 

 leaved, the Orange-leaved, 

 and the Rosemarj^-leaved 

 Myrtle, and a very small- 

 leaved kind called Jenny 

 Reichenbach, which is grown 



chiefly for forming ground- Mybsiphtlluic 

 work to bouquets and mixing 

 with cut flowers. 



The cultivation of Myr- 

 tles is very simple ; they 

 thi'ive well in a mixture of 

 two parts light sandy loam 

 to one of leaf-motdd, and 

 will grow in almost any 

 place. Their pretty white 

 flowers are produced natu- 

 rally during the spring and 

 summer months, but if re- 

 quired in winter the plants 

 should be placed in heat 

 some time in autumn. 



Werium. — These plants 

 are better known by the 

 name of Oleander ; the spe- 

 cies is a native of the Le- 

 vant, and is recorded, with 

 the Orange and MjTtle, to 

 be among the oldest green- 

 house plants cultivated in 

 this country, and long natu- 

 ralised in the South of 



Europe. Although so very Nerium Oleander. 



beautiful, the whole of the plant is poisonous to man ; 



notwithstanding this, how- 

 ever, the splendid larva of 

 the Oleander Sphinx ]\Ioth 

 {Chcerocampa nerii) thrives 

 wen upon its poisonous 

 leaves. 



These plants should be 

 propagated from cuttings in 

 spring, and, when rooted, 

 potted singly in small pots : 

 keep them growing freely, 

 and well supplied with water, 

 and re-pot when necessary ; 

 these cuttings will flower the 

 same season. After flower- 

 ing cut them back a short 

 distance, and place them in 

 a little heat to induce a short 

 growth before winter ; in 

 spring re-pot if necessary, 

 and encourage free growth 

 by keeping them well sup- 

 plied with water. This pro- 

 cess must be repeated each 

 season. For soil use loam, 

 peat, leaf-mould, and well- 

 decomposed manure, in equal 

 parts. 



Nerium Oleander, and its 

 A-ariety splendeus, have large 

 double rose-coloured flowers 

 borne upon many-branched 

 panicles, which last a long 

 time in full beauty, and are 

 deliciously fragrant. There 

 is also a variety called album, 

 with pure white flowers. It 

 sometimes happensthat 

 young shoots start out from 

 the base of the flower-stem, 

 which, if allowed to grow, 

 will entirely spoil the bloom 

 — they must, therefore, be 

 pinched or cut out as soon 

 as seen. 



Passiflora. — This genus 

 consists of grand climbing 

 plants, that are the glory of 

 the tropical and sub-tropical 

 forests of the New World, a 

 few species only being found 

 in Asia and Africa. They 

 are popularly known as 

 *' Passion-flowers," from a 



