66 
HINTS ON THUNBERGIA. 
leaf mould, quite blackened, with old and rotten«wood earth, either, or both united, 
to the extent of half the compost ; black-heath soil, and the semi-decayed turfy- 
surface of a common, the earth of which is a sandy loam, of each one quarter, the 
whole perfectly blended, and I should say sifted coarsely, the portions retained by 
the sieve to be employed as drainage to the pots ; in this compost Thunhergia will 
revel, either in a pot or in parterre. The latter situation suits the plant well after 
midsummer, and in a bed it is perfectly beautiful. Plants raised in pots and trans- 
ferred with entire balls to a bed of soil similar to that described, and kept moderately 
moist, each under a hand-glass, till the growth becomes established, will, in a few 
weeks, run and intertwine into a mass, the effect of which surpasses that of most of 
the beautiful subjects employed in the " bedding-out " system of gardening. The 
seeds also ripen freely in September and October, at least in the southern counties, 
provided the weather be serene and genial. The autumn of 1835 was singularly 
favourable to the formation of perfect capsules ; but the deluges of rain in October, 
and the extremely keen frosts of the third week, prevented their complete maturation. 
Thunberg'ia will prosper in the greenhouse, conservatory, or stove, provided it be not, 
in the winter, exposed to a temperature below 45 degrees ; it loves pot-room, and 
also to send its roots into a feeder- pan below it, half filled with the soil, and pierced at 
the bottom with three small drainage-holes. Water should be pretty liberally bestowed, 
and with these precautions and cares the cultivator will perceive that the plate at 
No. II. has not done justice either to the colour or to the expansion of the flower. 
The seeds may be sown in deep pans, either as soon as ripe or in January ; there 
are three or four in a capsule, exceedingly curious in structure. Perhaps six weeks 
may elapse, even in a heat of 60 degrees, before they vegetate, but the young plants 
progress rapidly. One of the greatest beauties of the flower is traceable in the 
structure of the four stamina and the style; these claim the utmost admiration of 
the botanist. 
There are about eight species of Thunhergia known, but it is rare to meet with 
seven of them; the folio v/ing list exhibits the dates of introduction and native 
country of each : — 
Thunhergia fragrans ; East Indies, 1796; white sweet flowers. 
— grandiflova; idem, 1820; blue. 
cordata ; Trinidad, 1820 ; white. 
— angulata; Madagascar, 1823; yellowish. 
coccinea; Nepal, 1823; reddisli — misnamed, for it ought to be of a brilHant 
crimson, the specific name being derived from coccus, doubtless, which implies 
cochineal, whence the finest scarlet and crimson dyes are extracted. 
Capensis ; Cape of Good Hope, ]824; yellowish. 
. — Hawtayneana; Nepal, 1826; scarlet. 
All these, and many other genera, are grouped by the botanists, who affect the 
natural system, under Acanthacece, from Acanthus, hear s-hveech; it may agree with 
that type in having rather swollen joints near the exsertion of the leaves, but Acanthus 
differs materially in structure, and, in fact, seems wholly unfit to be a type of plants so 
essentially dissimilar. The natural system may be an excellent coadjutor, but till it 
be less thorny, less perplexed with difficulties, and more certain and fixed in its own 
