IIORTUS CANTABIHG I EN! i I S. 
319 
to make them as dwarf in appearance as pos- 
sible, and also to give them the advantage of 
striking roots higher up the stem, if inclined. 
Any side shoot that appears must, as soon as 
it has made two leaves, be pinched at the end 
to stop its growing ; for, in this case, instead 
of wanting a bushy plant, with several trusses 
of bloom on them, we want only one shoot, 
and a single truss, which truss will be very 
much finer than those with many flowers, or 
even those with only three or four trusses. 
APPLICATION OF LIQUID MANURES. 
It is the practice of many to administer 
liquid manure as soon as the trusses of bloom 
can be seen. Of this there are many kinds : 
cow-dung, sheep's-dung, poultry-dung, and 
some of the fertilizing liquids, are used with 
various success, and a solution of sulphate of 
ammonia, in water, has been recommended 
upon high authority. We have seen its good 
eifects on Fuchsias, and have very little doubt 
of its efficacy in anything. This fertilizer 
has been mentioned in a former part of the 
work: with regard to the dung of poultry, two 
pounds weight to ten gallons of water ; and, 
with respect to cow or sheep's dung, a gallon 
in measure to ten gallons of water, will be 
found sufficient ; let the manure and water be 
stirred together a day before it is used, and 
settle down again. The liquid then may be 
applied about every fifth or sixth watering, 
and not oftener. It is said to give the bloom 
a better colour, and a greater strength; and it 
is certain that, applied once to five times of 
clear water, it can do no harm. 
PROLONGING THE BLOOMS. 
This can only be accomplished by placing 
the plants in the cool shade, — a very brief 
period of sunshine on the flowers would j 
destroy them. The usual mode of keeping ' 
them, is to have a shade of canvass inside, and | 
not outside the house; for then the windows, j 
or rather the lights, can be opened in hot 
weather, and the plants be protected by the 
cloth. A canvass-house would be the very 
best contrivance for Geraniums, with a roof 
to roll up, and sides to open out, so that air 
could be given, or withheld, as the weather 
may warrant. In this way a few thousand 
plants can be got ready for market in nine 
months, and kept in good market order several 
weeks; and by those means, plants with single 
trusses, grown on purpose for exhibition, may 
be kept in fine order for a considerable time. 
GENERAL REMARKS. 
It is worthy of remark that, do as you will 
with large plants, it is morally impossible to 
get the individual flowers so large and thick, 
and well coloured, and free from crumpling, 
as small ones ; and it has even been tried 
whether two trusses will come as fine as one 
on the same plant ; but the proof is in favour 
of a single truss. It appears quite as detri- 
mental to the Geranium to have two trusses 
on a plant, as it does to a Polyanthus or an 
Auricula; and it is to be hoped that, however 
much it may be determined to encourage the 
growth of large unwieldly plants, there may 
be taste enough in some of the popular socie- 
ties to provide prizes, also, for plants with a 
single bloom, or rather single truss. It is 
nothing but the mode of growing, that makes 
the fine seedling of one year come the poor 
ruined flower of the year following ; and the 
raisers of Geraniums will do Avell to try the 
experiment of the single truss on a cutting of 
the previous summer, and they will be con- 
vinced that we are right in wishing the Gera- 
nium to be grown and shown as a true florist's 
flower. Nothing would look more unique 
nor more beautiful, than a dozen plants, with 
single trusses, gracing the table of any horti- 
cultural exhibition. 
IIORTUS CANTABTtlGIENSIS. 
The thirteenth edition of this truly valuable 
work has just issued from the press, and not 
before the vast number of new plants, and 
even new generas, rendered it necessary. Our 
readers are aware that an authentic accented 
dictionary or catalogue of indigenous and ex- 
otic plants, is of the highest importance to 
all who take an interest in botany, and to col- 
lectors in particular ; and we need hardly tell 
them that the errors and confusion of several 
already in the hands of the public, give a 
double value to a w r ork which we can depend 
on for accuracy. 
The first edition of the Hortus Cantabri- 
giensis was brought out under the superin- 
tendence of the late James Donn, Curator 
of the Cambridge Botanic Garden, and 
Fellow of the Linnaean and Horticultural 
Societies. It has been successively increased 
in value by several additions made from 
time to time, and is "now further enlarged 
and improved by P. N. Don." "We have 
already found it of infinite service. To give 
an idea of its comparative usefulness, let us 
turn to the article Vitis, the Vine. We have 
sixteen species ; three from Asia, one from 
Nepal, three from the East Indies, one from 
Sierra Leone, one from the West Indies, and 
seven from North America. There is no 
mixture of seedlings with species, but we there 
find the species Vinifera, the common, and the 
only really useful one, detailed thus: — For the 
* Hortus Cantabrigiensis ; or an accented Catalogue 
of Indigenous and Exotic Plants, &c. By the late 
James Donn, Curator, Fellow of the Linnaean aDd 
Horticultural Societies. London: Simpkin, Marshall, 
and Co. 
