ARTOCARPUS— AFRICAN ASPARAGUS. 



bottom heat. A loamy soil suits them and the plants should be assigned a shady, moist 

 position. Prune into shape in February and pot a fortnight or three weeks later. An 

 ordinary stove temperature is all they need. 



ASPARAGUS. 



The introduction of the South African species of " Asparagus Fern " has led to the 

 popularisation of Asparagus for decorative purposes. Cut sprays are both elegant and 

 more durable than Maiden-hair 

 fern (Adiantum cuneatum). As 

 a consequence immense numbers 

 of plants are grown both for 

 home use and for supplying the 

 market with trails and sprays. A. 

 plumosus nanus, South Africa, is 

 a most valuable species. In the 

 young state the plants produce 

 dwarf, tufted, gracefully arch- 

 ing stems, hence a mistake was 

 made in naming it A. plumosus 

 "nanus," and it is still wrongly 

 catalogued as dwarf and distinct. 

 In reality, the plants under good 

 cultivation soon lose all appear- 

 ances of having once been dwarf, 

 the young growths rapidly 

 attaining a length of 6 feet or 

 more, and would be more correctly described as climbing. A. scandens, South Africa, 

 is a climber from the first and is elegant and durable in a cut state, but not so effective 

 as A. plumosus. Other species catalogued as stove plants are A. p. deflexus, elegant 

 in baskets ; A. retrofractus, and A. tenuissimus. 



One species, A. p. scandens, can be propagated by cuttings formed of the tops of young 

 growths, inserted in sandy soil, plunged in gentle heat, and covered with glass ; they 

 are not slow in rooting, and the plants soon attain to a serviceable size. All the species 

 are increased by dividing the roots in March, each crown or division having roots 



