ARALIA — ARISTOLOCHIA . 



285 



but forms a good companion to the original species. Cuttings of side-shoots, taken in 

 March, can be rooted in a close, warm frame ; but the plants obtained in this way are 

 far inferior to those raised from seed. For seed-sowing in February or March, fill well- 

 drained pots or pans with a mixture of loam, peat, and sand ; after freeing the new 

 seeds of pulp, press them— thinly — into the soil, and plunge the pots or pans in a moist, 

 mild hot-bed, water, cover with squares of glass, and shade heavily. Germination will 

 be slow. After it has taken place, remove the glass, and gradually inure the plants to 

 the light and air. When about two inches high, place the seedlings singly in 21-inch 

 pots, making the soil for this, and subsequent shifts, richer than for seed sowing. Keep 

 them close, warm, and lightly shaded; spray frequently with tepid water till they 

 have formed fresh roots, when a light — but not hot and dry — shelf or stage is the 

 best place for them. A timely shift into 5 -inch or 6 -inch pots must be given ; and after 

 the plants have become well established in these — their fruiting pots — a light position 

 in a warm greenhouse is preferable to strong heat. The plants are somewhat coarse- 

 rooted ; and when they have well filled their pots with roots, abundance of water should 

 be given, frequently varied with liquid manure. The branches only fruit once ; but 

 if long, naked stems are not thought objectionable, the plants may receive an occasional 

 shift, and if otherwise well attended to, will continue to produce flowering and fruiting 

 growths for several years in succession. 



aristolochia. — This genus of plants is remarkable for the quaint and extraordinary 

 forms the flowers assume. These, however, are never likely to become popular in a cut 

 state, and where plants are cultivated in stoves it is chiefly in the way of curiosities. 

 A. Duchartrei, syn. A. Euiziana, Upper Amazons, produces flowers from the old wood 

 in racemes. The tube of the flower is brown ; limb, cream colour, with purple blotches. 

 January. Height 5 feet. A. gigas, Guatemala, purple flowers ; perianth large, cordate, 

 ribbed outside, reticulated, downy ; tube inflated, contracted in the middle, limb large, 

 with a long tail. June. Height 10 feet. A. Goldieana (Fig. 131, next page), Old Calabar, 

 is the finest of the family. Flowers have been seen 26 inches long by 11 inches wide, 

 greenish yellow outside, deep yellow with chocolate veins inside. July. The natives are 

 said to use the flowers for hats. A. tricaudata, Mexico, flowers dark purple brown. August. 

 The stove species of Aristolochias are propagated by inserting cuttings in sandy soil, and 

 covering with a bell glass, in a temperature of 75°. From small pots the plants are 

 gradually shifted into larger, or they may be planted in narrow borders. A mixture 

 of two parts loam to one of leaf soil, with sand, suits them. Train the taller growers 



