188 



earth, rotten turves from a pasture field, and thor- 

 oughly de^'oraposed stable dung, in equal parts; 

 pay no heed to what nervous people tell you about 

 using dung for them, because I have met with peo- 

 ple who have told me it would kill them outright ; 

 but my experience tells me the contrary, and I 

 think the very construction of the plant ought to 

 convince any one that to support so many fine leaves 

 as they do, they require more than ordinary amount 

 of nourishment. Thirdly, temperature ; for plants 

 set to work in March, a night temperature of 60° 

 and a day temperature of 70° with a rise of 5° or 

 10° by sun-heat, will grow them to perfection. 

 Use water sparingly to the roots at first, but as the 

 leaves develop the n selves they will require more ; 

 they must hav a moist atmosphere to grow in, 

 and be shaded from very bright sunshine. This is 

 a very important point in their management, es- 

 p cially during the first stages r f their growth. 

 But as the leaves gain strength and substance, they 

 will suffer le:^s from sunshine occasionally, though 

 they do not need it at any time. I am in advocate 

 for using the syringe freely amongst them once, 

 and sometimes in ho weither twice, a day ; but; if 

 there is sufficient moisture maintained in the air of 

 the house to keep the edges of the leaves from 

 shrivelling up, those who dislike the syringe may 

 grow them without it. As to the varieties which 

 it is desirable to grow, perhaps I cannot do better 

 than leave the selection to the cultivator ; but i 

 will name a few desirable kinds of those with varie- 

 gated fol age : Maculate incarnate, Miranda, Niti- 

 da, Picta, Punctata, Rex, Ricinifolia raacul ta, 

 Th'^^aitessii, Virginia ; to these I would add the old 

 Fuchsioides, tha i which there is not a more grace- 

 ful plant amongst them. I used to grow this varie- 

 ty, especially for large vases, a d its bright crim- 

 son, drooping, wax-like flowers made it a noble or- 

 nament. It requires liberal cul ure in the way of 

 rich soil, plenty of pot-room, and a moderate sup- 

 ply of air, and to be kept near the glass. When I 

 T grow it, as above stated, I always flowered it in a 

 13-inch pot. I used to winter them in a warm 

 house ; early in the spring ' he plants were taken 

 out and repotted into 24' s. They are plants that 

 require ne tly staking, and to be done in good 

 time, as the youn - growth is very heavy, and liable 

 to fall and snap asunder, to the injury of the plant. 

 The winter temperature of the other kinds named 

 ought not to less than 44°. — Gardener s WeeJdy. 



Campanula pyramid alts.— Chimney campa- 

 nula, may be increased by offsets taken from the 

 side of the flowering plant, or may be raised from 



seed sown in spring, and like other small seeds, 

 should be sown on firm soil and very slightly cover- 

 ed. Place over the pot a piece of glass to pre- 

 serve the surface from the drying effect of the air, 

 yet care must be taken (and it holds good in all 

 cases where seed pots are covered in this way,) that 

 the glass is taken off at some period when the air 

 is still, to try the foliage of the seedling, or they 

 would damp off. Pot a few only of the strongest 

 plants, the rest may be nursed on an outside bor- 

 der, as they are almost hardy. As they progress 

 in size, shift into larger pots, and pick away all side 

 shoots, so as to concentrate the strength of the 

 plant in the main stem. — Gardener's Weekly. 



Explorations in Nicaragua.— Dr. Seeman, 

 has returned to London, and resumes the Editorship 

 of the Jo rnal of Botany. He has explored the 

 vegetation of Bayan > River, some Americans 

 having loaned him a steamer for the purpose. 



The Canon Hall Muscat. — Is of more vigor- 

 ous constitution than it's parent ; but it never was a 

 favorite with me, because I could never give it the 

 peculiar treatment which I am satisfied it requires. 

 It is certainly a noble grape when well done ; but 

 we so seldom see it so, that I do not recommend it 

 for general use unless it can have a house devoted 

 to it, as in every stage of its growth it will bear 10° 

 more heat than any other variety whijh I ever grew. 

 This, I firmly believe, is the principal cause of so 

 many failures, and as it is usually grown with other 

 kinds, so that only general treatment can be given 

 it, which is simply of no use. 



It must have a special atmosphere, quite 10° 

 above what will suffice for any other variety of Mus- 

 cat before it will succeed. I am sure it only requires 

 an ordinary amount of observation to convince any 

 one of this fact ; take any ordinary case where there 

 is a plant of this variety in fruit, and just notice 

 where the cane is strongest, the bunches the largest, 

 and the berries the most evenly set. In nineteen 

 cases out of twenty, the best bunches in every re- 

 spect will be at the top of the vijiC where the heat 

 in the house is the greatest. I am of course aware 

 that this is the case in most instances of any variety ; 

 but it is not so strongly shown in any other as in 

 the variety under notice. What influence the ap- 

 plication of bottom-heat to the roots might have, 

 as was suggested by Mr. Rust, remains to be proved ; 

 the suggestion is certainly worthy of consideration 

 by those with whom it has found favor. I beheve 

 an extra prepared border, with a temperature above 



