CULTURE OF THE GENUS ERICA. 
239 
Let the kinds selected for the same pot be as near of the same habit as can be 
judged ; for instance, plant E . melastoma, Pctiveriana, Petiveria, Sebana, peni- 
cillata , &c. in one pot, and E. pinea, pinifolia, vestita, grandijiora, purpurea , &c. 
in another pot ; E. ventricosa, prcegnans , Linnceana, Linnceoides, colorans, &c. in 
another ; and E, Aitoniana, jasminijlora, ampullacea, Irby ana, injlala, & c. in 
another; for, unless this be attended to, one sort will strike root in a much shorter 
time than others in the same pot, which makes it very inconvenient when potting 
them out. 
When the pot is filled with cuttings it should be well watered with a fine rose 
watering-pot, and placed in a close shady part of the stove, admitting as little air 
as possible, near to which the cutting pots are placed, taking care to water them 
every day. 
Bell glasses are not necessary for heaths in general : some species, as E. glauca , 
aurea , taxifolia, and a few other species more difficult to strike, may be put under 
bell glasses, and placed in the stove beside the others. 
Where no stove is at hand to put the cutting pots in, and where the situation in 
which they are to be placed has much air, then bell glasses are absolutely necessary. 
The glasses will require to be wiped occasionally, to prevent any damp from 
injuring the cuttings; and when they have struck root the glasses should be removed 
gradually, some time before the cuttings are potted off. 
Cuttings of heaths will strike root when put in at any season, if the cuttings are 
in a proper state ; early in spring, however, is the best time for them. 
When the cuttings are rooted they should be potted into the smallest sized pots, 
and kept for ten days or a fortnight in a close shaded place ; then expose them 
gradually to a more airy part of the house, shading them from the sun till they are 
able to bear it. 
The soil for the first potting should be one half peat and one half sand ; drain 
the pots well with broken pots or cinders. 
The second potting must depend on the season of the year : if the first potting 
be done in spring, the second should be as soon as the young roots appear round the 
insides of the pots ; but if the first potting be done in summer, then the second will 
not be necessary till the following spring. 
The soil of the second potting should be about two- thirds peat and one-third 
sand ; and in all the pottings the soil should be a black peat, taken from a dry 
heath or common, which is never overflowed with water. In general, it should not 
be taken more than five or six inches deep ; and where sand is not intermixed with 
the soil in its original state, about one-fifth of coarse white sand, free from irony 
matter, should be mixed with it. 
In shifting heaths from one pot or tub to another, any time from March till 
August may be taken, as opportunity permits, or the state of the plants require. 
Before beginning to shift, prepare a quantity of the above soil, by riddling it 
through a very coarse riddle. If the plants arc small, of course the riddle should 
be finer. 
