76 
NAT. ORDER. BICORNES. 
tus, but tliinly set upon the branches ; the fruit is oval and of the 
same color and consistence with the common sort, but the seeds of 
this are flat, while in that they are pointed and angular. This plant 
grows naturally in all parts of Asia. 
Propagation and Culture. The most usual method of raising 
these beautiful evergreens is by sowing the seeds ; but they are some- 
times capable of being raised by cuttings and layers. 
With the first species the seeds should be collected when perfectly 
ripe, in November, or the following month, and preserved in dry 
sand till the period of sowing, which may be either in December or 
the early spring season. The seed should be sown in pots and 
lightly covered with mould, then plunged into an old tan hot-bed 
and covered with glasses. By this method of culture the plants 
will be up in April, when they should be often but sparingly watered, 
and kept free from weeds. 
As ihe hot season advances the plants should be shaded during 
the heat of the days ; but in warm weather open all night to receive 
the dew, and only covered in the middle of the day. By this 
method the plants become strong the first summer. In the beginning 
of October they may be shaken out of the pots, and their roots 
carefully separated, planting them singly in small pots filled with 
light earth ; then plunging the pots into an old bark-bed under a 
common frame, carefully shading them from the sun in the middle of 
the day, and giving them water as they require : in this bed the pots 
should remain during the winter, exposing them to the open air 
whenever the weather is favorable, but in frosty weather they should 
be covered sufficient to protect them. In the spring following they 
may be removed to a gentle hot-bed, which requires no other cover- 
ing but mats. This enables them to make strong shoots early in the 
summer, by which they become in a better condition to bear the 
cold of the succeeding winter. In this bed they should continue 
during the summer, and be well protected in the following winter. 
After the plants have obtained the height of two or three feet, 
they may be shaken out of the pots, and planted in the open ground 
