530 



OLEANDER CULTURE. 



wliite_, and double-flowering varieties, which, form some of 

 the most beautiful ornaments of our gardens. This plant 

 contains abundance of sap_, which is very poisonous, and 

 consequently very dangerous; it is therefore advisable never 

 to put any of the flowers in the mouth, and to take care 

 that no children should be allowed near the plants. The 

 hotter the district in which the plant is grown, the more 

 poisonous is the sap. 



" The Oleander puts forth its flower-bearing branches a 

 year in advance, and then blossoms for two consecutive 

 years, so it is as well not to cut them down in the autumn 

 after the first time of flowering. The beautiful specimens 

 so much admired in the Gardens of the Luxembourg during 

 the fine weather are from sixty to one hundred years old. 

 They are grown in tubs three or four feet square, and in a 

 compost made in the following proportions : half soil and cow- 

 dung, a quarter rotten stable manure, a quarter turfy heath 

 mould ; the whole being well mixed at the time the tubs 

 are filled. The operation of re-potting should be performed 

 every five years, about the month of May. The sides of 

 the tubs being moveable, the earth is taken away from the 

 roots of the tree, which is itself lifted up about three inches, 

 so as to remove the soil all round it. This being done, 

 broken flower-pots, or similar substances, are thrown into 

 the bottoms of the tubs for the purpose of drainage, as is 

 usually done with large shrubs planted in this manner. 

 The shrub is then lowered into its former place, and covered 

 up with the mixture just described. 



" The Oleander is generally placed out of doors about the 

 10th of May, and as this plant grows naturally under a 

 burning sky, it is advisable to give it as much sun as pos- 

 sible. A few days after it is put put, the surface of the 

 soil in the tubs should be covered with cow-dung, and 

 during the whole of the summer season they should be 

 copiously watered at least three times a week. As soon as 

 October comes, the waterings are diminished, and all the 

 dung that is not entirely decomposed is taken away, the 

 surface of the soil being stirred up with a pointed stick to 

 make it more permeable. The Oleander being extremely 



