150 
ERICA JACKSONII. 
That the genus is by no means of such arduous cultivation as is usually imagined, 
has often been asserted in this Magazine. In the neighbourhood of the metropolis, 
the great point is to preserve them from mildew during the late summer months ; 
and this is too frequently done by exposing them in the open air. Where they can 
be properly shaded from the fiercer rays of the sun, such exposure will be at least 
relieved of some objections that would attach to it. But by placing them on the 
stage of a greenhouse, or in a frame, in such a manner that an abundance of air can 
be made to circulate around and below them, mildew will be avoided, and the plants 
will not be subjected to the violent changes of weather which occur in our climate. 
Whether in houses or in the open air, however, they must not be so situated 
that the sun can strike freely and directly on their pots ; for no care in watering 
would suffice to save the roots from injury under such circumstances. To protect 
them thoroughly in summer, they ought to be below the level of the wall of the pit, 
frame, or house in which they are kept ; and, especially, they should be rendered 
so compact in their growth by the repeated removal of the points of the young 
shoots, that the lower branches may themselves assist in shading the pots. 
Our figure was made in Mr. Jackson’s nursery, about the middle of July 1840. 
It commences flowering in that month, and continues till October. 
