THE CENTURY EOOK OF GARDENING. 



THE CACTUS HOUSE AT KEW. 



Some classes of stove foliage plants are extremely popular, and are largely used for table 

 decoration and as room plants. The most prominent among them for this purpose are the 

 different members of Aralia, Begonia, Caladium, Croton, and Dracaena. When these, or in 

 fact any plants that have been grown in a warm moist structure, are about to be taken into the 

 dwelling-house for a time, they should be hardened off a little beforehand, as by so doing they 

 will not receive so great a check as if taken at once from the stove. While the bulk of them 

 do not require any special treatment, there are a few, notably the Bertolonias (known as Jewel 

 Plants) and some of the Sonerilas, that succeed best when covered by a bell-glass or some 

 corresponding protection. A list of the principal stove foliage plants, exclusive of Palms and 

 Ferns, which are dealt with elsewhere, is here appended: 



Acalypha. — Soft - growing shrubs, with curiously and 

 irregularly variegated leaves, generally red and brown. 

 The best are : A. Godseffiana, green edged, creamy 

 yellow ; A. Macfeeana, red, blotched crimson ; A. macro- 

 phylla, reddish brow n, paler blotches ; A. musaica, 

 bronzy green, marked red and yellow ; A. tricolor, irre- 

 gularly blotched and splashed with light red, crimson, 

 and green. 



AlOCRSia. — The Alocasias bear lor the most part heart or 

 shield shaped leaves, which are prettily marked in many 

 diverse ways. Plenty of heat and moisture, and an open 

 compost, consisting of rough peat, Sphagnum Moss, pieces 

 of charcoal and sand, will suit them well. A. Chelsoni, 

 A. Jenningsi, A. Lowi, A. macrorhiza variegata, A. 

 metallica, A. Sedeni, A. Thibautiana, and A. zebrina 

 are all good. 



Ananassa sativa variegata is the variegated- leaved 



Pine Apple, which was boldly arching leaves, 2ft. or 3ft. 

 long ; they are of a bright green, heavily edged with 

 yellow, which becomes tinged w ith red. 

 Anthlirium. — While several forms of Anthurium are 

 valuable as flowering plants, there are many others with 

 very handsome foliage, prominent among them being A. 

 cordifolium, large heart-shaped leaves of a bright shining 

 green ; A. cryslallinum, velvety green, all the veins 



marked with silvery white ; A. insigne, huge three-lobed 

 leaves; A. Veitchi, leaves 2ft. to 4ft. long, and ift. wide 

 at the broadest part ; the principal veins are deeply sunk, 

 thus giving to the leaf a wavy appearance ; A. Waro- 

 queanum, leaves as long as the last, but broader at the 

 base and more pointed, rich velvety green, with lighter 

 coloured midrib and veins. The same treatment as that 

 recommended for Alocasia will suit the Anthuriums. 



Araiia.- -Upright-growing, sparely-branched plants, with 

 prettily divided leaves. In a young state they are very 

 popular for table decoration. The best are : A. Chabrieri, 

 with long narrow deep green leaflets, and a reddish mid- 

 rib ; A. elegantissima, with much - divided leaves of 

 an olive green tint ; A. reticulata, with strap-shaped leaves 

 of deep green, veined with a lighter hue ; A. Veitchi, with 

 nine to eleven leaflets, which are arranged like ribs of 

 a fan — these leaflets are very narrow, wavy, and of a 

 bronzy green. The variety gracillima is even more slender 

 than the last. Of the above, A. Chabrieri and A. reticu- 

 lata may be struck from cuttings, but the others are 

 increased by grafting them on to young plants of A. 

 reticulata. A mixture of loam, peat, and sand is very 

 suitable for these Aralias. 



ArtoearpilS Cannoni. — This is a free-growing shrub of 

 easy culture, with lobed leaves of a rich bronzy crimson, 



