OPERATIONS FOR MAY. 
95 
globular manner, and having a deep orange colour. It is a handsome and peculiar species, and 
has just opened its flowers with Messrs. Young, of Epsom, who obtained its seeds from the Swan 
River Colony. 
Bego'nia crassicau'lis. Mr. Hartweg, the industrious collector of the Horticultural Society, 
has inti'oduced this new species from Guatemala to the gardens of that body, and it has flowered 
most profusely in the present spring. It is remarkable for having very thick, varied, and succulent 
stems, from the sides of which, near the top, and before the development of leaves, immense 
quantities of pretty white flowers are protruded. It is both singular and interesting. 
Bego'nia vitifo^lia. Another but very diff'erent species, procured by the Horticultural 
Society from the same source, and flowering at a similar season. Its leaves are very much the 
shape of those of the common grape-vine, and the flowers are produced in spreading panicles. 
They are white, and have a lively appearance in the stove during spring. 
CoMBRE^TUM macrophy'llum . A species to which this name has been applied in gardens on 
account of its large and broad foliage, is now flowering in the stove of Messrs. Rollisson, of 
Tooting. It is an evergreen climber, and the flowers are borne in the same way as those of the 
old C. ( Poivrea ) coccineum ; but the racemes are less branching, and the blossoms are far more 
dense. These last are of a brilliant carmine colour. 
Dendro^bium Piera'rdii latifo'lium. From the well-known D. Pierardii this very handsome 
variety is distinguished by blooming a month or six weeks later, and by having much stronger 
stems, larger leaves, and flowers of nearly twice the size. It is an exceedingly desirable acquisition 
to an orchidaceous-house, and is blossoming finely with Messrs. Loddiges. 
Eupho'rbia BryoVh. a plant bearing this title has a very gay aspect in one of the stoves at 
Messrs. Rollisson's, Tooting. It is not far removed from E. splendens, which it resembles in the 
stems, leaves, and flowers. The foliage is, however, better and more conspicuous, and the blossoms 
are of a far intenser hue. Associated with E. aplendens, it is a beautiful object, and blooms 
almost throughout the year. 
Habra'nthus prate'nsis. This valuable early-flowering bulbous plant is in bloom in a green- 
house at Mr. Low's, Clapton. In habit it approaches the species of Amaryllis, and the flowers, 
borne on a stem about a foot or eighteen inches in height, are of a bright red tint, with a light 
gx-eenish centre and stripes. It is quite an ornamental plant. 
OPERATIONS FOR MAY, 
The principal transplantation of tender flowers that are to decorate the flower-beds and 
borders during summer will have to be eff'ected this month, if the weather be propitious. To 
prepare and inure them thoroughly, therefore, and in adequate quantities, becomes a work for 
immediate attention. Propagation may yet be carried on, if enough plants are not already 
possessed ; and cuttings now put in should be struck rapidly, potted as soon as they have made 
roots, and transferred soon after to a cold frame, there to await their final allotment. 
Whatever stock may have been before raised, ought to be rendered as hardy and robust as 
circumstances will permit, and be exposed at all times when the wind is not keen, and there are 
no symptoms of frost. Wherever weakliness is induced, by too close confinement, or by neglecting 
to cut off the young shoots if they grow more than two or three inches long, it must be considered 
that the plants will be much more susceptible of injury after being planted out, and that the check 
they will necessarily have to sustain will cause a considerable retardation of their flowering season, 
and prevent them from so soon (or from ever) acquiring vigorous health. Especially should the 
shoots of the branching species be carefully kept stopped, to give them a due bushiness of character, 
and a proportionate augmentation of flowers ; for, where one flower or bunch of flowers would 
ci'own a shoot that now exists, the same branch, if timely cut off", would protrude six or more 
laterals, each bearing an equal number of blossoms to that likely to appear on the original shoot. 
While transplanting tender exotics, the operator is rarely sufficiently careful, and if the roots 
are buried in the earth, and all seems fair and smooth on the surface, little else is thought of. 
