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P; 194 SEEDLING EPACRISES. 
but from the vast quantities which have been introduced, or raised from seed, within the last 
ten years, their name, at the present time, is legion ; but we must in justice add, the varieties 
are much more numerous than distinct. At the risk of a charge of repetition, we re-state the 
rules which ought to guide every person who hopes to be successful in raising superior seedlings 
in this or any other class of plants. 
First, then, as a starting point, the parents should be of good habit, free growth, and strong 
constitution ; they should produce strong short-jointed wood, for as the Epacris flowers from 
the joints, the closer they are together the more likely will the plants be to produce compact 
spikes of flowers. Secondly, in cross-breeding, the colours used should be rich and pure, and as 
an example ofpureness, we would name the white variety figured upon the adjo inin g plate, and 
as a rich colour, E. Copelandii, or the best variety of miniata. These kinds crossed would be 
almost sure to throw some fine things, as they are not only of good habit and colour, but they also 
produce flowers of very tolerable form and substance — for when habit and colour is obtained, the 
form of the flowers is the next consideration. Persons of a more strictly geometrical taste than our- 
selves may take form as the first consideration, and among plants which are grown for their flowers 
to be shown in a cut state, they may be right ; but when the entire plant is taken into consider- 
ation, fine habit, rich foliage, and good colour, should take precedence of form, but if the four 
can be combined, then perfection is attained. 
"We cannot quit this subject of cross breeding without suggesting that there is yet a wide 
field open among Epacrises for the cross breeder, and that it is quite possible to carry the high 
colours of some of the impressa varieties into the summer blooming kinds ; and hence we see no 
reason why the rich colours of miniata or Copelandii should not be engrafted upon the light and 
elegant foliage of pulchella, or why we should not have a scarlet variety of paludosa, heteronema, 
or ceraBflora. Of course it would be a work of time, but the material is at hand, and the work 
would be the most interesting that an enthusiastic amateur could undertake. Of all the pleasing 
parts of gardening, that of raising seedling varieties is the most exciting, for, from the time the 
seed becomes a tiny plant, until it arrives at blooming maturity, there is constant change ; at 
one time you think it will be like this, at another like that, and, as the day approaches for the 
opening of the first blossom, the excitement becomes more intense, and "hopes" which are 
bnoyed up to-day, become "fears" to morrow, while the finale will frequently show that those 
plants upon which we had pinned our faith are valueless, and that some apparently worthless 
" wee thing" will prove the real California after all. One cardinal point in cross-breeding must 
never be lost sight of, and that is to improve the constitution of the plant at the same time that 
you improve the flower, for, unless you do this, your work will have been labour lost and the 
plant you have raised will be valueless. 
Of all the Epacrises the varieties of impressa and campanulata are the best for winter 
blooming ; but, for purposes of exhibition, E. paludosa, heteronema, cerasflora, pulchella, and 
p. nana, grandiflora, miniata, and Mr. Kinghorn's varieties figured on the annexed plate, are the 
most useful. E. Attleeana for an early show is useful, but it requires severe stopping to get good 
bushy plants. Mr. Hally, of Blaekkeath, also raised a white small-flowered kind from 
imported seed, which has the scent of hawthorn and which he calls odorata alba; it is a summer 
blooming land, producing an abundance of flowers in long spikes. 
In cultivation, the Epacris requires much the same treatment as Heaths, that is, a good free 
open peaty soil with plenty of grit and sand, liberal treatment during the growing season, and 
well ripening in the autumn to ensure bloom. In potting give plenty of drainage, reduce the 
soil into a tolerably fine state, and pot the plants firmly. The best place for the plants after 
potting is a tolerably close frame, but here they must have abundance of air when they get 
established. When selecting plants, take care that they are strong, bushy, and well rooted, 
with the roots in a fresh vigorous state. Such plants may receive a liberal shift, but, if they 
are at all stunted, a small shift will be preferable. Such kinds as impressa, campanulata, miniata, 
y, he, require to be closely cut in after blooming, so as to get young vigorous wood from the <o 
5} centre, and this, if it is intended for blooming, should be allowed to grow at full length ; but, g- 
on the first formation of a young specimen, the shoots must be stopped to form a bushy plant ; |(tTj 
