METROSIDEROS ROBUSTA. 
541 
in some of the houses want putting into larger 
pots, cuttings or seedlings to pot off, crocks, 
labels, or flower shrubs to prepare, seeds, 
bulbs, and tubers to examine, and various 
other things to do that we might neglect 
doing in fine weather. Tliis seems inevit- 
able. In frosty weather when the ground 
cannot be worked, collect manures, such as 
peat earth, sand, loam, cow and horse drop- 
pings, poultry dung, &c. But unless the 
frost is very hard indeed, many ground ope- 
rations go on as usual. Then there is the 
job which we seem never to have done, though 
always at it, the pruning of trees, shrubs, and 
vines. The standard ti'ees of an orcliard 
would find work for any number ahnost to do 
them justice, and rarely do any gardeners 
attempt it ; they are content with blighted 
stunted fruit, when they might have it fine, 
and would rather s«^e them all manner of bad 
shapes, and the fruit out of reach to require 
shaking down, and bruising and spoiling, 
than get up and cut away the useless w^ood and 
shorten the height, so that the fruit might 
come large and be all within reach. "We could 
almost write a chapter on this shamefully- 
neglected subject. The rest of tlie duties of 
this month depend chiefly on the weatlier, but 
all the precautions against frost, cold Avinds, 
heavy rains, snow, hail, and stormy weather 
in general, should be taken at night, as if some 
of these visitations were certain. The taking 
of plants into the greenhouse, stove, or forcing- 
house, to bring them forward, is almost a rou- 
tine business, and a general I'ule against Avater- 
ing much, applies through all the Avinter 
months. 
THE TEMPERATURE AT WHICH PLANT-HOUSES 
SHOULD BE KEPT DURING DECEMBER. 
TJie Greenhouse. — From 40 to 50 degrees 
by day, and from 36 to 40 degrees at night, 
or just safe from frost. 
The Conservatory. — About 55 degrees by 
day, and from 45 to 50 degrees at night. 
The Plant-stove. — About 60 degrees by 
day, and about 50 degrees at night. 
The Orcldd House. — The warm, or Indian 
house, 65 to 70 degrees by day, and from 55 
to 60 degrees at night. The cool, or Mexican 
house, 60 degrees by day, and 50 degrees at 
nifrht. 
METROSIDEROS 
Meteosideros robusta, Allan Cunning- 
ham (robust Metrosideros). -= Myrtacege " § 
Leptospermeas. 
This is a fine robust evergreen shrub under 
cultivation, acquii-ing, in its natural condition, 
the size of a large tree, "not unusually at- 
taining the height of eighty feet." It, how- 
ever, blooms under cultivation when not more 
than a yard high, and may be had from that 
ROBUSTA. 
size up to the largest that can be conveniently 
accommodated in a greenhouse. It is a New 
Zealand plant, and is called by the New 
Zealanders, Batu. The Avood is very hard 
and durable, owing to the closeness of its grain, 
and hence it is found a valuable article in 
the construction of agricultural implements, 
and in ship-timbers, &c. 
It forms an evergreen shrub of robust 
