EEBKTTAIiY. 



23 



plants, especially in the stove department, by quietly saying, ** This is a dull 

 time of the year, and thei'e are so few plants that will bloom now. I wish you 

 had been here two or three months ago." Granting all this, still much can 

 be done with the plants at command. Unfortunately, the useful plants are not 

 cultivated in sufficient quantities to produce effect. We do not require a Kew 

 collection for this purpose, but, on the contrary, a few plants well selected. I am 

 thoroughly convinced that the plant-houses here are more effective in Decem- 

 ber and January than any other two months in the whole year. I will here 

 describe a few of the most important that are grown by the hundreds. 

 Poinsettia pulcherrima and alba, with their crimson and white bracts. Linum 

 trigynum, rich golden yellow ; a profuse bloomer, and most effective. Serico- 

 graphis Ghiesbreghtii, fine crimson flower, very graceful. Justicia speciosa, 

 an old and valuable subject, with its colour peculiar to itself. Goldfussia 

 isophylla, light lavender colour. Thyrsacanthus rutilaus, from 1 to 7 feet high, 

 with its pendant racemes of scarlet flowers hanging to the surface of the pots. 

 Begonia nitida, Sandersii, and hydrocotylifolia. iEschynanthus grandiflorus 

 and Lobbianum. Rogiera cordata, compact bush ; large trusses of pink flowers 

 6 inches in diameter, and as fragrant as the old well-known Luculia gratissima. 

 Torenia pulcherrima, most beautiful plant for suspension-baskets, alternately 

 with the iEschynanthus above. Euphorbia jacquiniasflora. Eranthemum pul- 

 chellum. Heterocentrum roseum. Calla fethiopica. Gesneras oblongata, 

 cinnabarina, and zebrina. Impatiens Hookeri. Meyenia erecta, one of the 

 finest winter plants we have, blooms profusely ; few gardeners, I am sorry to say, 

 will indorse this remark. Gardenia citriodora, flowers small, fragrant, and thickly 

 set on the branches. Cannas Warczewiczii and nudiflora, their foliage being a 



great acquisition. Eucharis amazonica, a charming bulbous-rooted plant, in- 

 creased by suckers, and should never have a pot exceeding 4 or 5 inches, as 



much of its success depends upon being thoroughly pot-bound, and by a little 



care it may be had in bloom eight months in the year. The texture of the 



flowers is of such firm substance, they are of long duration. It is a perfect 



gem, and purity itself. Thanks to M. Linden. 



We have also a good miscellaneous collection, and many of them in bloom. 

 Creepers for the roof on rafters. — Thunbergia laurifolia and Hexacentris 



mysorensis, nothing can excel when well done trained alternately. It is only 



under such circumstances that they can display their magnificence. 



Epiphyllum truncatum Ruckerianum, E. truncatum Bridgesii, E. truncatum 



spectabile, E. truncatum violaceum, E. truncatum Salmonii, are all beautiful 



in the extreme, especially as standards and half-standards. 



The bush plants are one mass of flower thoroughly enveloping the pot, but 



do not show themselves to advantage. 



The fine-foliaged plants are grown extensively in pits by themselves, and 



amongst the most useful for decorative purposes in this interesting class of 



plants are the Crotons and Dracaenas. 



Trentham, Staffordshire. A. Hendersok. 



THE FIG. 



The Fig, when protected with a glass covering, is, perhaps, next to the Vine, 

 one of our most luscious and prolific fruits. There are many fine Fig trees 

 against walls, old buildings, and warm corners in this country, and some other- 

 wise protected by covering or thatching in various ways, that, owing to our 

 variable and very uncertain seasons, particularly the last two, get so punished 



