57G 
JOURNAL OF HORTICULTURE AND COTTAGE GARDENER. [ December 21, 1882. 
established favourites before any attempt had been made to raise 
a dwarf compact-habited race of plants. Cultivators upon the 
Continent took the lead in this direction, and amongst the forms 
which made their appearance at the beginning of the past decade 
Boule de Neige, which is still the best white variety, stands pre¬ 
eminent, possessing all the qualities of a really useful plant, 
compact yet vigorous in habit, very floriferous, the flowers well 
formed and pure white. The parentage of this I have been 
' unable to ascertain, but together with A. Darwini it has proved 
the source of the present race of Abutilons. The last-mentioned 
species, it may be observed, is a native of Brazil, whence the late 
Mr. C. Darwin obtained seeds which produced the first plants 
grown in this country. The flowers are of good size, orange 
colour with darker veins, and sharply three-lobed leaves; one 
remarkable peculiarity of the plant being that the earliest flowers 
are sterile with their own pollen, but readily fertilised with 
pollen from another plant. By crossing Boule de Neige and 
A. Darwini the hybrid A. rosmflorum was produced about 1S74 at 
Holloway, and this was a most important and curious advance, 
the flowers being rosy crimson, very even in form, and abundant. 
About the same time or shortly after Mr. George, gardener to the 
Misses Nicholson, Ripon House, Putney Heath, who has contributed 
more to the improvement of Abutilons than any other English 
horticulturist, had raised some seedlings which were considered 
as the result of an accidental cross between A. Boule de Neige and 
A. Darwini, as these were the only two grown together at the 
time, but it is now uncertain which was the seed-bearing parent. 
From the first batch thus secured four were selected and sent 
out by Messrs. Osborn & Sons of Fulham, representing rose, 
yellow, and orange shades. The best, however, was Lady of the 
Lake, with rose-coloured flowers veined with a darker tint, and 
this was honoured with a certificate by the Royal Botanic Society, 
Regent’s Park, in 1S78. Such satisfactory results from chance 
fertilisation induced Mr. George to try several careful crosses, 
from which were obtained other distinct and beautiful forms, 
several being distinguished by the high colours of the flowers. 
One of the most notable of these is known as Swanlev Red, and 
Mr. George attributes the rich colour of this and some others to a 
cross he believes he obtained between one of the Abutilons and 
Hibiscus Rosa-sinensis, the former being the seed-bearing parent. 
These plants are sufficiently nearly allied to render this probable, 
especially as in some of the forms so obtained the foliage is very 
distinct from the other Abutilons, exhibiting some distant resem¬ 
blance to the Hibiscus, and the habit is also suggestive of that 
plant, though the supposed hybrid does not follow it in the 
fugaciousness of the flowers. Another cross has been similarly 
tried—namely, between the variegated A. Sellowianum marrno- 
ratum and a variety of the hybrid type, the result in this case 
being that plants have been raised which produce their flowers in 
clusters at the end of a common peduncle, and are thus quite clear 
of the foliage—a character of great importance. The flowers at 
present, however, are susceptible of improvement both in form 
and colour, though the cross must be regarded as a step in the 
right direction, and will no doubt lead to another type of 
Abutilons. Several other experiments have been tried, but they 
will be referred to on another occasion. At present only a few of 
the best of the varieties can be mentioned. 
The flowers of all the varieties noted below are distinguished by 
the rounded petals, the margin slightly incurved, giving a globular 
appearance to the flower. The habit is compact and strong, the 
flowers being produced in great numbers throughout the winter 
months. Sir Garnet Wolseley, deep scarlet, with darker veins 
inside ; Mrs. Garfield , pale pink, dark centre, large open bloom ; 
Splendcns, dark scarlet, very handsome ; purpurea, purplish crimson 
or magenta, very distinct; Goldfinch, light yellow with orange 
veins, open flower; Emperor, deep purple ; The Premier, very 
large flower, rich rose ; Oi'imson Gem, scarlet crimson : King of 
Poses, bright rose ; Cloth of Gold, golden yellow, smooth even 
petals, very free ; The Pride, pale pink, delicate, free, and good ; 
Enchantress, rose with deeper veins, small neat flowers, extremely 
free ; Silver Pell, white with rosy veins, flowering in small clusters; 
Orange Gem, orange scarlet, open flower ; and King of Crimsons, 
one of the best, of a fine crimson hue. Brilliant is very distinct 
from the above, being more bushy in habit, but not so dwarf as 
those mentioned below. The flowers are deep scarlet, not so well 
formed as the preceding, but produced so freely that the variety 
is unrivalled in a decorative point of view. 
In addition to these Mr. George has a race of very dwarf 
Abutilons very close in habit, and scarcely exceeding a foot in 
height after two years’ growth, and are, therefore, invaluable for 
decorative purposes. The best of these are Vivid, rich scarlet; 
Pinh Gem, small flower, clear rosy-pink ; and Scarlet Gem, very 
bright. 
The method of cultivation adopted by Mr. George corresponds 
to a great extent with that advocated by Mr.Bardney, except that 
at Putney a lighter compost is employed—namely, a mixture of 
loam, peat, and leaf soil in equal proportions, with a little sand, 
and the condition of the plants indicates that this suits them 
admirably. One important point in their culture is keeping them 
near the glass, as this not only insures a greater compactness 
of growth, but increased fioriferousness with brighter-coloured 
flowers. It is a mistake to have Abutilons in too low a tempe¬ 
rature, about 55° to 05° being the most suitable during the winter 
months. Good plants can be grown from cuttings in from six to 
nine months, and plants so raised in the spring will flower freely 
the following winter, one or two pinchings improving the habit 
of the plants.— L. Castle. 
ALLAMANDAS. 
Yottr correspondent “ M. M.” on page 498 recommends an 
intermediate temperature for these plants. They certainly will 
do fairly well under cool conditions, for I have had them in con¬ 
servatories for fully three months without any fire heat being 
applied. I have also kept them in a night temperature of 50° 
during winter, and the plants have continued flowering until 
February. It is, however, a mistake to suppose they will 
last as long and well as in a higher temperature. In a warm 
house Allamandas grow rapidly and luxuriantly, also flower 
abundantly, every lateral that is produced affording blooms. As 
soon as one lot of flowers are produced the shoot branches into 
three or four, which yield blooms when they have extended about 
a foot or little more in length. Under warm treatment ten times 
more flowers will be produced than is the case when grown cool, 
as the continuous supply depends entirely upon succession growths. 
With care and a knowledge of how to thin out the lateral growths 
the plants will flower as well at the bottom as the top if trained 
under the roof of a plant stove. 
As regards soil, peat is unnecessary. The Allamanda delights to 
grow in a good rich loam, to which is added a seventh of manure, 
and the whole pressed into the pot as firmly as possible. The 
plants will thrive if grown in pots, and when these are full of 
roots guano water or any other liquid manure may be supplied 
not only weekly, but daily.—X. 
WATERING PLANTS. 
The best of soil may be procured and the plants properly potted 
in it, and yet everything may be spoiled through the injudicious 
supply of water. Watering is one of the arts which cannot be 
taught in writing, and, indeed, cannot be taught at all. The 
judgment of the operator must be called upon to decide when 
water is necessary. I am being continually asked, “How often 
should such and such a plant be watered ? ” My invariable 
answer is, As often as necessary. This impresses on the would-be 
recipient of what is supposed a secret the necessity of under¬ 
standing. A rule which may be generally adhered to is, only to 
give water when the soil in the pot is dryish, and yet not so dry 
as to cause suffering to the plant. It should be understood that 
soil which is kept continually wet is always cold and ungenial, 
and plants cannot thrive in soil which is in this state. More¬ 
over, soddened soil soon becomes sour, and that destroys the roots. 
Root-bound plants are not easily injured with too much water, 
but soil which is not occupied with roots quickly becomes sour. 
An experienced person knows by the appearance of a plant 
whether it is needing water or not, but even he may be deceived 
unless the watering has been properly done. Generally speaking 
a plant needs water when the pot it occupies sounds hollow when 
struck with a key, pocket knife, or similar heavy article, and 
when a plant really needs water it should receive enough. The 
spaces left in the pots for holding water should be quite filled, 
and this must be repeated until the water drains from the pots ; 
no more should then be given until required again. 
Although overwatering is a common evil, sometimes less than 
enough is given. This generally happens when insufficient space 
is left in the pots to hold the water. This point should always 
have proper attention. Sometimes it happens with those who 
have been warned against, or have seen the evil of overwatering. 
A plant may be dry or it may not, but a teaspoonful or so is 
given, and the surface of the soil is moistened; still the plants 
look flagged, so by-and-by another driblet is given, and this goes 
on continually. The result is that while the surface is wet—often 
too wet—the soil where the roots are is dust dry, and so the 
plants languish. Sometimes when plants become too dry they 
cannot be moistened at all by ordinary applications of water. 
