ON THE CULTURE OF THE CHINESE AND INDIAN AZALEA. 
59 
its numerous leaders from the main stem becoming larger at every joint, till, at 
length, the footstalks, alone, of the most distant leaves, are, individually, much 
thicker than is the main stem near the surface of the earth. 
Second, it is observed, that in many cases of the higher order of horticulture, that the 
fumes of fermenting stable manure, placed in pits, or raised in mass within a glazed 
erection, confers a full and healthy verdure on the leaves, which cannot be obtained 
by steam, either from tanks or sprinklings ; witness the Pine, and Vine, in stoves or 
pits ; the Gardenias, Gloxinias cum multis aliis, in floriculture. The very fact that 
ammoniacal hydro-carbons so produced may be deleterious in the case of Melons, 
and the like, supports the theory ; because it proves that, as the said gases do not 
form within the ground, but find their way into the atmosphere of the pit or frame, 
the fatal effect must be the result of direct chemical action upon the foliage. 
Here we close: truth is our object; but, even, while we hope and believe that 
a beautiful doctrine may be true, we desire to see it based on and confirmed by 
unobjectionable experiments. 
ON THE CULTURE OF THE CHINESE AND INDIAN AZALEA. 
If we were requested to name any single genus of plants which we considered 
the best adapted for producing a grand and varied display of flowers in the conser- 
vatory, during a period of eight or ten months in the year, and which, at the same 
time, were not of difficult cultivation, we should unhesitatingly name that which 
heads this article ; for, with only ordinary management, some of the numerous 
varieties may be had in bloom from Christmas until the end of May ; while, by a 
proper course of forcing at one season and retarding at another, a very splendid 
display may be obtained from the end of October until the following July. 
The original species of the Chinese or Indian Azalea were introduced to our 
gardens nearly forty years ago; A. indica being sent from China, in 1808, 
under the name of Rhododendron perdicum, while a ledifolia, now commonly called 
A. indica alba, followed in 1819, and A. sinense, of the splendid yellow species of 
which there are several varieties now in cultivation, was first seen in 1824. From 
these species some very beautiful hybrids or garden varieties were raised by various 
cultivators ; but it was not until the introduction of A. indica variegata, in 1833, 
latentia, in 1833, and Gladstanesa, in 1835, that any very decided direction was given 
to the labours of the hybridiser or cross-breeder of these truly magnificent plants. 
From that time the progress of improvement in form, size, and substance of flower, as 
well as in habit of plant, has been steadily on the increase, while the few beautifully 
formed and marked varieties which are now annually unfolding their charms to the 
various raisers, promise in a short time to drive the majority of our old favourites 
entirely out of cultivation. 
