RUSSELIA JUNCEA. 
320 
parture from the ordinary furm of the gera- 
nium flower when every other peculiarity of 
the geranium is preserved. The petals of 
the flower are as thick as thin leather, and 
perfectly stiff, a quality likely to render the 
flower capable of remaining a long time in 
perfection. In a general way we do not 
approve of perpetuating any monstrous and 
unnatural tribe of flowers that have at- 
tained anything like an approach to per- 
fection. Hence we denounced anemone- 
flowering daldias ; successfully too, for they 
were banished. But where there is novelty 
with good qualities to be had, we have no 
objection, therefore we are glad to see the 
fancy dahlias encouraged by prizes, because 
there was no reason why they should be 
second in form to the best show flowers. 
Now we have fancy or border flowers in 
the geranium tribe which may become of 
use from their peculiar habits, we are not 
sorry to see prizes awarded for them as seed- 
lings, but as pot plants we do not like them, 
and we hope to see common sense triumph, 
and all potted geraniums that deper.d on 
sticks for support driven from shows. The 
new family, of which we have seen Harle- 
quin, Columbine, and Singularity, may be 
deemed an entirely new race of extraordinary 
but not florists' flowers. 
RUSSELTA JTJNCEA. 
This is one of the most graceful plants in 
the stove, but one very likely to attract the 
mealy bug, if once suffered to be checked 
materially, or to stand still too long when 
properly at rest. It is a long grassy weep- 
ing plant, ugly if grown too vigorously, for 
there will sometimes be shoots so i*amping as 
to seem unnatural. It is a plant which should 
never rest long until it is a specimen and well 
flowered. Use for its culture half turfy peat, 
and half loam from rotted turves ; this, well 
chopped up together, but not sifted other 
than through a sieve that would let a bullet 
through, will be found quite adequate to its 
vigorous growth. In a small pot put a l'ooted 
cutting ; or, if you have only the cutting, in- 
sert it in such a pot with a small glass over 
it, and plunge it in the tan for the sake of 
bottom heat. "When it has struck root, and 
the root has reached the side of the pot, give 
it a pot one size larger, with the same kind of 
soil, but let one third of the height be filled 
with broken pot for draining. Let it now 
have a moist heat, and if the stove is kept 
too dry, have a glass over it, but it will do no 
good without a moist heat long together ; 
keep it still in gentle bottom heat, you will 
find the shoots begin to move pretty fast, on 
which top any one that is growing too fast, 
and if any remarkably vigorous shoot come up, 
as will frequently be the case, stop it at once ; 
the great beauty of this plant consists in the 
shoots growing numerous but rather weakly, 
and hanging over the side of the pot, which 
must be elevated as the branches lengthen. 
Some cultivators support the plant up to a 
certain height, and then let it grow over and 
hang down towards the pot, and it will even 
hang below it then ; but the plant is more 
likely to get unhealthy when tied up to sup- 
ports than when it takes its natural course, 
and grows at once over the edge of the pot. 
As fast as the roots reach the side of the pot, 
it must have a shift into the one it is to 
bloom in, say a nine-inch pot. As soon as it 
is shifted into this, there may be several 
very strong shoots come up much thicker 
than any other about the plant, and these 
must be shortened at once, that they may 
throw out lateral branches ; the shoots should 
be placed equally round the pot, and any that 
grow strong enough to stand upright, should be 
topped before they advance much ; the plant 
will very soon assume its natural habit, and 
droop round the sides, becoming thicker and 
thicker, that is, more and more numerous. If 
there be a disposition to send forth a few 
straggling blooms here and there, pick them 
off immediately ; let it be syringed occasion- 
ally, and continued in moist heat until it has 
grown as much as it will, and begins to 
slacken, when it will go at once to flower, and 
bear abundant scarlet or coral coloured blooms 
about the size of the common barberry, all 
along the graceful long pendant branches, 
which will hang a yard doAvn if well grown. 
The propagation of this is very simple ; any 
one of the joints of a shoot will strike root, 
but in a plant of any size there are many 
side shoots at the bottom that would come 
off with roots to them. Many who sup- 
port the plant with rings and sticks as it 
advances, continue to change, the pot from 
size to size until it comes to the largest, but 
those who allow the plant to grow at once 
over the edge of the pot cannot do this, for 
after one or two shifts it is very difficult to 
keep the plant out of the way of damage, so 
that it is necessary to place it in the large 
blooming pot at the end of two or three 
shifts ; while it is blooming there is a com- 
plete stop to its growth. It makes a great 
show for a long time, and there are many 
successive flowers, but when the bloom is 
over, the plant is a good deal distressed, and 
although by thinning out, cutting back, and 
repotting in new soil, it may grow vigorously 
again, it is better to keep a constant succes- 
sion of plants to come in after one another. 
