104 ASTELMA EXIMIUM. 
has hitherto .received, and should be in the collection of every individual who pos- 
sesses a greenhouse, as it is one of a few permanently valuable old plants, to which 
a great degree of interest will always be . attached as long as the love of flowers 
finds a place in the breast of man. 
We have never experienced any particular difficulty in the cultivation of this 
plant, although, as it does not produce young shoots freely, it can seldom be pro- 
pagated by cuttings, and the best method of multiplying it is by seed, which 
frequently arrives at maturity. This should be sown early in the spring in pots or 
flats of sandy heath-mould, and placed in a slight heat (bottom heat is best) till it 
vegetates, when the young plants may be potted off and kept in a greenhouse or 
frame. With regard to the treatment of established plants, it may be observed, 
that they should be potted in a soil composed of two-thirds sandy heath-mould, 
(that which contains a large proportion of small gritstone and fibre should be pre- 
ferred,) and one-third light sandy loam. An efficient drainage is of first import- 
ance, for if the water applied to the surface does not flow freely through the soil, 
and find ready egress at the bottom of the pot, this plant will never succeed well. 
In watering plants of this species, care must be taken not to administer water 
unless actually required, and also not to allow the soil at any time to become too 
dry, in which latter case it would separate itself from the sides of the pot, and all 
the water subsequently applied would escape through the fissure thus formed 
between the pot and the soil, while not a particle of it would be conducted to the 
roots ; the result of which would be, that the plant would speedily and suddenly 
perish, particularly if much exposed to solar light. No moisture should ever be 
allowed to rest or remain on the leaves, especially in the winter season, as, being 
of such a downy or cottony nature, and consequently very retentive of moisture, 
they will frequently rot if this is not attended to. 
This beautiful species is a native of the Cape of Good Hope, from whence it 
was introduced to this country in 1793, by Colonel William Patterson. Our 
drawing was taken from a plant which flowered in the greenhouse at Chatsworth 
in the summer of 1837- Its usual time of flowering in the greenhouses of this 
country is the month of June, the flowers generally remaining expanded till August 
or September. 
