96 ORNAMENTAL WINTER AND SPRING FLOWERING PLANTS. 



handle. They should be grown very hardy by giving abundance 

 of air. 



1 must conclude this section with a few remarks on the hardy 

 plants it contains. These may all be made very useful if not 

 subjected to excessive forcing. If it be possible to command 

 such a convenience, a large very light frame or pit should be 

 devoted to preparing them for a slight forcing ; from this it is 

 merely necessary to exclude frost, and to give them abundance 

 of air in fine warm weather. The plants should be placed in 

 such a situation a few weeks before even the slightest forcing 

 commences, as the sap will then be gradually set in motion, 

 and the buds will begin to swell. If this course be pursued, 

 and the transition to the forcing-house be gradual, the results 

 will be most satisfactory, as the plants will be more healthy in 

 appearance, and the flowers will be finer, larger, and better 

 coloured. All the plants intended for this purpose should if 

 possible be grown in pots the whole of the season previous, in 

 order that their roots may be thoroughly established, and avoid 

 the check produced by taking them up out of the ground as they 

 are wanted. They should be potted in rich soil, and plunged in 

 a bed of ashes in an open, sunny situation during the grow- 

 ing season, and where they may remain till they are removed to 

 the preparatory frame. The plants referred to in these last 

 remarks are Pyrus japonica, Honeysuckle, various species of 

 Cistus, the Yellow and Purple Laburnum, Kalmia, Magnolia, 

 Jasminum nudiflorum, TTeigela, and Roses. Of the latter, the 

 most useful kinds are the Chinese and the Fairy for autumn and 

 early winter, and Moss, Provins, and Tea-scented Roses for late 

 winter and early spring. The Hybrid Perpetual and Hybrid 

 Bourbon varieties, in the open ground, would continue to flower 

 at intervals through the winter if simply protected from cold 

 and wet ; and are therefore excellently adapted for pot culture, 

 if immoderate forcing be avoided. If Magnolias are grown into 

 nice pyramidal bushes, they are very ornamental, as they flower 

 freely. Amongst the most useful varieties may be mentioned 

 Con:>picua, purpurea, Soulangeana, Thompsoniana, acuminata, 

 Hammondii, speciosa, and Norbertii. Helleborus niger is a 

 winter flowering plant in many localities, and merely requires 

 the protection of a cold frame in more unfavourable ones. 

 Musk is easily excited into growth, and as many are partial to 

 its fragrance, a few roots may be potted and placed in the seve- 

 ral houses. Violets are everybody's favourites, and with a 

 little attention in preserving them from red spider, they are of 

 easy cultivation. Runners planted in May, on a bed of rich 

 loamy soil behind a north wall, require no further attention till 

 they are taken up and potted early in September, or planted in 



