OLEANDER CULTURE. 



529 



plants of better habit, and in greater numbers. In this 

 country the Oleander is rarely seen in perfection, and most 

 probably because it is generally grown indoors. The treat- 

 ment given it on the Continent insures the plant a perfect 

 rest in winter : as it cannot grow in the cellars, caves, and 

 dark orangeries in which it is placed. Therefore, when put 

 ill the open air, the accumulated growing power of the 

 plant pushes forth equably and immediately : the shoots, 

 being produced in the open air, are perfectly indifferent to 

 any changes they may have to undergo therein, and the 

 plants enjoy the fuU sun and uninterrupted light. 



It may be noticed in two different conditions about 

 Paris — in the large specimen form in tubs of various sizes, 

 and as small neat plants in six-inch pots. These last 

 are sold in great numbers in the markets, and flower as 

 abundantly as the best managed of the large specimens. 

 The finest examples of large specimens I have ever seen are 

 those in the garden of the Luxembourg Palace, and I have 

 much pleasure in giving the following account of their cul- 

 tivation by Monsieur Riviere fils, son of the talented and 

 excellent superintendent of the Luxembourg Gardens. 

 Judging by the habit of the Oleander, as generally seen 

 with us, it might be supposed that it would not make an 

 ornamental tree for a terrace, but nothing can be finer than 

 the immense specimens seen in the Luxembourg Gardens, 

 the heads being as round and dense as a Pelargonium grown 

 by Mr. Turner, and sometimes as much as ten feet through ; 

 and as for the little plants grown in six-inch pots, nothing 

 can be prettier. They are certainly far handsomer objects 

 than Orange trees, grow equally well or better in tubs, 

 and are more worthy of culture in this way. 



" This beautiful shrub is a native of Algeria and the south 

 of Europe. In a state of nature, it prefers damp and 

 fresh soil ; it is consequently found in abundance on the 

 banks of rivers and the edges of marshes. In the wild 

 state it rarely reaches the height of more than from three 

 to five feet, but under cultivation it may grow even to nine 

 or ten feet. Its flowers are of a delicate rose colour, and 

 from seed horticulturists have succeeded in obtaining yellow, 



M M 



