ON THE CULTURE OF THE VENUS' FLY-TRAP. 
S 
produced his Odylic system, supporting it 'with facts numerous and astounding. By it, the agency of 
the moon and planets as opposed to that of the sun and fixed stars, — the latter shining hy their own 
inherent, and not reflected light, — is exemplified. 
To return to the Equinox, — the one just past : it occurred on the 21st March ult., at 4h. 56m. in 
the morning. The character of the wind, the weather, and the very great depression of the harometer, 
— are signs that cannot be doubted. Wind and rain to excess from the 17th to the 27th inclusive, give 
warning of a drenching season ! 
Our agriculturists and gardeners are therefore called upon to observe attentively, and to be prepared! 
We may, as in all mundane affairs, find this summer an exception to the ride ; but, comparing the 
Calendar in " White's History of Selborne," with assured observations during a very long period, it 
may be considered as established by genuine facts. The 30th of March was the first day that offered 
any promise of a change : the land was drenched to saturation even in this driest of counties (Surrey). 
The balance of rain has been now restored ; and the occurrence of a fortnight or three weeks of 
dry weather following the profuse rains of the latter half of March, has given a propitious seed- 
time. 
ON THE CTTLTTJEE OF THE VENUS' ELT-TEAP. 
By Me. Bkown, of the Tooting Nubsery. 
THE Fly-trap is the Dionoea Muscipula, a plant which has already been so often described, and is 
so well known, that I shall not detain the reader with any descriptive remarks. My object is 
rather to offer a few hints on the culture of this beautiful and interesting plant — one of the greatest 
curiosities in the vegetable kingdom, and one which is generally considered difficult to grow. It is a 
native of Carolina ; and coming from a comparatively cold part of the world, many persons imagine it 
will not stand heat, or at least not that degree of heat that is generally kept up in our stoves. It is, 
however, a plant that will bear more heat than is generally supposed ; but when it is in a stove, or an 
Orchid-house, it is frequently shaded too much and kept too far from the glass. I trust the few hints 
I shall offer respecting its culture will enable any person who feels anxious to do so, to grow the 
Venus' Fly-trap, which is so interesting that no collection of tender plants should be without it. The 
sensitive property with which it is endued, is one of the most remarkable phenomena in the vegetable 
world. 
For soil, use equal parts of fibrous peat, and of sphagnum cut very short, mixed with a little sand. 
The pots should be well drained ; five-inch pots are in most eases sufficiently large. After the pots 
are drained, and filled with the soil, make a hole in the centre, in which place the plant, and carefully 
press the soil close round about it. Then on the top, and all round the plant, should be placed a little 
green moss, cut fine ; the surface should be clipped level, and neat, with a pair of scissors, and care 
must be taken not to bury the heart of the plant. Give them a good watering with a fine-rose 
watering-pot to settle the soil. The best time for potting is about the month of March. I would 
recommend to shake them out of the old soil every season and pot them in fresh soil. 
The plants thus potted should be placed in shallow pans of water, at the end of a stove, or an Orchid- 
house, on a shelf, about eighteen inches from the glass. At the end where they arc placed, shading 
will not be required, but the glass may be painted with a little thin paint just over them ; or which is 
still better, with some paste in which a little whiting, dissolved in hot water, has been mixed ; this 
must be used with a brush, on some dry day, to allow it to get thoroughly dry, or the rain would wash 
it off. In winter a little hot water with a brush, will soon wash it off again ; and at that season the 
light will prove beneficial to the plants. 
Watering must be carefully attended to. After the plants are potted, and placed on the shelf in 
March, syringe or water them with a fine-rose water-pot once a day. As the plants increase in growth, 
and the summer advances, water must be applied oftener. By the latter part of May, and in June and 
July, when the sun is very powerful and hot, they should be watered ten or twelve times a-day ; but 
when the weather is cloudy three or four times a-day will be sufficient. The stronger the sun the 
oftener they will require watering. As autumn advances decrease the water by degrees ; and when 
the plants are at rest in the winter, water applied once or twice a- week will be quite sufficient. 
The plants must be kept clean, and the moss clipped often, so as not to allow it to cover the heart 
of the plants, as that would choke them and soon produce death. This treatment will secure short 
and strong leaves, with the lobes large, lying close on the moss, and of a beautiful healthy colour, 
instead of being drawn long and slender and having a sickly colour, as is too often the case. The 
flower stalks should be pinched off whenever they appear, to encourage the growth of the plant, the 
