cockscomb form, wliicli increases the size of the flower-head very materially. To induce this habit of 
growth, it is necessary to give the plant a slight check, by depriving it of bottom heat until it shows 
flower, and afterwards growing it very vigorously until the cockscomb character is fully developed. 
By this treatment, we have had the panicle of C. paniculatum upwards of three feet long ; and though 
less brilliant in colom- than some of its congeners, it is, when so grown, a noble-looking plant. Our 
wood-cut represents C. fallax, sometimes called affine and squamatum ; but C. fallax superbum is 
a much finer thing, producing, instead of one, several lateral panicles ; from the base of each leaf, 
indeed, we have had this variety with seventeen panicles of its brilliant scarlet flowers upon one plant 
at the same time. This variety is very scarce ; but those who go to the trouble of hunting it out, wUl 
not regret theu- outlay in procm-ing it. 
C. splendens, a climbing species, is a beautiful thing, cither as a pot plant or as a stove climber, 
where, planted at a corner of the tan or tan-bed, it will grow and produce flowers in great abundance. 
As a pot plant, it reqmi-es to be well pruned in after blooming, but it must not be so closely primed as 
some of the kinds, neither is it advisable to reduce the roots quite so much. Give the plant a season 
of rest ; but after it is started, keep it vigorously growing with a brisk bottom heat. This species and 
C. macrophyUmn bloom natmally late in the autumn and partly thi-ough the winter ; and, indeed, by 
starting some plants about the end of May, most of the kinds may be had in bloom until Christmas, 
and at that season no flower can be more desirable for making bouquets. Clerodendi'ons delight in 
rich soil, and also, in the growing season, ia rich manure water. This should be prepared by placing 
one bushel of fi'esh cow-dung, and the same quantity of sheep's dung, in a hogshead of soft water, 
taking care to mix them thoroughly, and adding one peck of soot, one peck of guano, and three or 
foui- large lumps of hme. This composition must be frequently stm-ed for a week before using, and 
then it vrUl be necessary to use it diluted with an equal portion of clean water. Sprinkle the fi-ame or 
pit with the manure water occasionally, and if it is perfectly clear and sweet, a little from a fine rose 
or syringe wdll be beneficial over the foKage of the plants. 
Clerodendrons ai-e propagated by cuttings, both of the old and young wood ; C. splendens by graft- 
ing and budding upon the roots of the stronger-growing species, and several kinds by seed which is 
plentifully produced. In making cuttings of the old wood, it is sometimes customary, if the wood is 
very strong, to split each cutting longitudinally, retaining a growing bud or point upon each, and thus 
two plants are procured in the place of one. Put the cuttings in vei-y sandy loam, and plunge the 
pots in a brisk bottom dung-heat of eighty degrees. Cuttings of the young wood must be inserted in 
silver sand ; and it will also be necessary to cover them with a bell or hand glass, and to keep them m 
a moist growing temi^erature. When they are rooted, pot them off singly, and treat them as before 
directed. In raising plants fi-om seed, sow in the usual manner early in March, and pot off singly 
when large enough. A strong bottom heat is necessary to induce the seed to germinate. Seedhngs 
make excellent plants, and many of them may be bloomed in small pots, which makes them very 
handy for common decorative pm-poses. 
This tribe of plants is very subject to the attacks of insects, especially of the red spider, thirp, and 
mealy bug. It is, therefore, necessary to keep a sharp look-out, and by copious syringing and 
a moist atmosphere, to keep the enemy at bay. The following are the most desu-able kinds : — 
Clerodendron splendens, fallax, fallax superbum, paniculatum, Ksempferi, squamatum, infortunatum, 
maerophyUum, fragrans flore pleno, Bethimianum. A. 
IJltsKllttttraus Jhiim. 
Australian Plants. — "While I Hved in England, I used 
often to remark, that AustraHan Plants seldom looked 
well after the second or third year ; and since I have 
resided among them, the reason has occurred to me, 
which is, that they ought to be cut down close to the 
ground when they begin to get ragged ; and that the 
prundng-knife, and a mistm-e of wood ashes in the soil, 
would probably prove an effectual substitute for the 
triennal bmnings to which they are subjected at home, 
of our shrubs never bloom in perfection till the 
after the growth is burnt over. Among these is 
Nuytsiafloribunda, which looks like a blackened leaf- 
leas trmik after a good bush-fii'e, but is covered the nest 
year with one mass of orange flowers. — J. Drummond, 
in Hook, Journ. Bot. [This ia a hint by which culti- 
vators of hard- wooded plants may profit. Some of the 
finest plants seen at the great metropoUtan exhibitions 
are the result of cutting down. Such things as Podolo- 
biums, Daviesias, and many more of the free-growing 
New Holland plants, grow admirably after being thus 
cut down. The advantages of using charcoal in plant 
cultivation, is also explained by the triennial burnings.] 
Oseille des noises, a new Sorrel. — In 1S36, M. Moritzi 
discovered, in one of the mountains of Switzerland, and 
