72 



ON THE CULTUKE AND HABITS 



X. — Remarks on the Culture and Habits of the Cephalotus fol- 

 licularis, accompanied by Meteorological Tables of the Tem- 

 perature of Cornwall. By Thomas Corbett, Gardener to Sir 

 William Molesworth, Bart., M.P. F.H.S. 



(Communicated Nov. 18, 1846.) 



We have a large rock-work at this place ; it faces the pleasure- 

 grounds. There is a large recess in this rock -work, where we 

 have a flight of steps winding from the bottom to the top ; about 

 half way up these steps a bog or swamp was made, and in this 

 bog we grow our Cephalotus. It is sheltered from the north, east, 

 and south by granite rocks weighing from half a hundred weight 

 to several tons. There are shrubs and different trees growing on 

 and about the rock, which help in summer to shade part of the 

 sun's rays from it. The bog extends nearly on a level ; the 

 shape of it is rather irregular ; its average diameter is about 9 

 feet. Above the rock, and some distance from it eastward, there 

 is a reservoir, from which the fountain in the centre of the 

 flower-garden is supplied by a large leaden pipe. As the place 

 where we can turn the water off or on to the fountain is conti- 

 guous to the bog, where there is a small pipe attached to the 

 large one, there we have another stoppage to the small pipe ; it 

 extends partly round the bog ; there are small perforated holes 

 all round it as far as it goes : from this we can turn on little or 

 much water to the bog, just as we think it requisite. At the 

 commencement of making this bog there was rather a low place 

 across the bottom, and as the under-ground was very porous, I 

 put a layer of wet clay all over it ; the next covering was a 

 mixture of turfy peat, and a little very much decayed leaf- 

 mould ; and on the top of that was a layer of sphagnum, with 

 some of its decayed roots, and some of its natural soil that was 

 under the roots. The surface of this composition was not all 

 kept equally wet. 



The first thing that I planted in this bog was Sarracenia pur- 

 purea, which was about four years ago. It was a very small 

 plant at that time, but it has grown very much, and is still 

 doing very well, and it had nine flowers on it at one time last 

 summer. I put a hand-glass over it to protect it in winter. 

 Occasionally we put other materials over it to keep out the frost. 

 The spring following I planted the Cephalotus under the same 

 hand-glass, and there it remained, doing very well, and treated 

 in the same manner as the Sarracenia, until last April, when, 

 to my surprise and regret, our poor little Cephalotus was rooted 



