m 
ROCKS AND ROCK-PLANTS. 
of February. Young plants placed there with a little attention to stopping the 
strong shoots for the encouragement of laterals, will thus be in a complete 
flowering state by midsummer, or a little later. They may then either be allowed 
to remain, or be removed to the greenhouse. Perhaps the latter may be most 
advisable, if for no other reason than to protect them from the red-spider and 
green-fly which would be apt to prove serious pests in the dry atmosphere, 
essential after that period for the perfection of the grapes ; but when they can be 
saved from the attacks of these insects, — -they flower more abundantly if allowed to 
stay, than they do in the greenhouse. 
"With respect to training the shoots, most people adopt trellises of some 
description. For large plants something of the kind is almost indispensable, 
especially with M. bicolor. Much of the effect of plants on trellises, however, 
depends on the taste displayed by the culturist in training. It will not do to 
train rigidly, and confine all the shoots to their very points ; they should always 
be left somewhat loose and flowing. But for the smaller specimens there is not 
the slightest need for trellises; they will look infinitely better without them if 
tastefully managed, using nothing but a single stick for a support, assisted 
perhaps by a little wire near the top. By frequently stopping back after they 
have once reached the summit, they are deprived of much of their rambling 
character, and soon make graceful bushy specimens, throwing out lateral flowering 
sprigs in plenty. 
As to soil, they are not bad to suit, provided it is not heavy or retentive. 
Loam and peat, or leaf-mould and loam with a portion of river-sand, answer very 
well. Where small plants are wanted, the first ingredients are most appropriate ; 
whilst the latter best promote a vigorous condition. When planted out, or potted 
in large pots, pieces of charcoal, or charred turf, may be used with advantage. 
Since the paper on the Conservative Wall-plants at Chatsworth was written, 
the M. bicolor has been destroyed. Possibly it might survive through a less severe 
winter than the last ; but it will doubtless always prove better to renew the plants 
yearly, planting out such, in May, as have already made considerable progress. 
A prepared soil, and a dry sunny situation, are indispensable matters to induce 
them to thrive here. 
ROCKS AND ROCK-PLANTS. 
When rockeries are introduced to a garden scene, their formation is influenced 
by one of two very different intentions. They are either designed as imitations of 
the natural features of a wild and rugged scene, or they are contrived for the pur- 
pose of furnishing a suitable situation for the cultivation of such plants as are 
naturally adapted for, or more successfully grown under the conditions they afford, 
or have a more interesting effect on rock than when cultivated in any other way. 
