BELONGING TO THE GENUS STATICE. 
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from the southern hemisphere — that we find the most distinct and varied forms, as 
well as the richest tints in point of colour. 
Beautiful, however, as are some of the more recent introductions, such as 
S. arborea, macrophylla, puberula, Dickensonii, and though last, not least, imbricata, 
one of the latest acquisitions of Mr. Webb, which has lately found its way to this 
country from the Continent, we have reason to believe that there are still a great 
number of species to be introduced from the Canary Islands, which are even more 
attractive than those we already have ; and we hope that any persons who have corre- 
spondents or friends in that part of the world, will use every endeavour to introduce 
these gems to our gardens. 
When 8. arborea was first introduced into public notice through the instru- 
mentality of Messrs. Lucombe, Pince, and Co., who sent a magnificent plant, some 
ten or twelve years back, to one of the Chiswick Horticultural Fetes, from their 
nursery at Exeter, we recollect that it was universally admired, and very considerable 
sums of money were offered for it, without inducing the Messrs. Lucombe to part 
from their treasure ; for as such we have no doubt it was regarded at the time. This 
was, perhaps, as fine a plant as has ever been seen, even to the present time, being 
very dwarf and vigorous, and splendidly covered with bloom ; and though the 
Messrs. Lucombe were the first to cultivate the plant successfully, we believe the 
merit of first propagating it freely belongs to Mr. Cunningham, of Edinburgh. 
In the present state of the art of cultivation, one only wonders how such a plant 
could ever have been regarded as either difficult to propagate or cultivate ; as, at the 
present time, he must be a poor culturist indeed who cannot, in a few months, manu- 
facture a good specimen, of either S. arborea or any of the other kinds. The error, 
however, which too many of us have fallen into in the management of these plants, 
is that of regarding them as alpine plants, and consequently keeping them much 
more arid, both atmospherically and at the root, than is either necessary or natural 
to them. The Statices, while they require a free porous soil, and abundance of 
moisture in the atmosphere, are very susceptible of injury from stagnant moisture, 
especially at the root, and are sooner injured from that than from any other cause. 
Indeed, if a pot-plant of any of the kinds once gets water-clogged the only remedy ? 
if you wish it to prosper, is to shake it out of the soil and start it again. 
To amateurs the Statices are particularly deserving of cultivation, because of 
the very long time which the flowers continue in perfection ; indeed they may be 
regarded as everlasting, and we have on several occasions noticed them among the 
dry flowers sold in Covent Garden Market for winter bouquets. Although the flowers 
continue in perfection for a considerable time, it is not advisable to leave them on 
the plants after they begin to get shabby ; as, if they chance to produce seed, which 
many of the kinds do very freely, they not only weaken the plants, but the latter, 
having fulfilled the purposes of nature in producing seed, they cease to form a 
regular succession of bloom buds, and hence become comparatively unattractive. 
To proceed, however, to a detailed notice of some of the principal tender kinds, 
