Miy 2, 1£8'. ] 
JOURNAL OF HORTICULTURE AND COTTAGE GARDENER. 
soma of our nursei^men, such collections are still to be found. 
And why should they not coma again to the front ? Their culture 
is easy ; they require much less heat, and consequently are less 
•expansive to grow than either stove plants or Orchids, and many are 
redly beautiful. Take the Boronia, for instance, with its neat, 
bell-shaped flowers of various shades. What is more beautiful than 
a we^l-grown plant of B. megastigma ? the colour a purplish brown 
with yellow inside the flower, and its delicious scent is unequalled. 
B heterophylla has much brighter flowers, being a bright rosy 
carmine, bu't it has no scent. Other really good sorts are B. elatior, 
B. tetrandra, B. polygalfefolia, and B. serruiata, all of which deserve 
a place in every collection. They thrive under ordinary greenhouse 
treatment, but require to be potted very firmly. Good peat with 
silver sand and a little charcoal added suits them admirably ; being 
Australian plants they are benefited by a little extra heat while 
making their growth. 
Eriostemon cuspidatus is another Australian shrub requiring 
similar treatment to the Boronia, except that in potting a third of 
the compost should be good fibry loam. The flowers are produced 
freely, are almost white, and very useful for cutting. The plants 
being naturally dwarf it requires little pruning, but forms a compact 
bush. Eriosl^mon buxifolius and E. myoporoides have rose-coloured 
flowers, rather smaller than cuspidatus, but make good companion 
plants. 
Acacia armata, A. Drummondi, A. pulchella, and A. linearis are 
till very suitable for growing in pots, and make neat plants for 
decorative purposes,flowering profusely on the young slender shoots. 
Immediately after flowering the plants should be cut back and 
again started into growth. As soon as the weather permits place 
them out of doors, so that the growth may be thoroughly ripened. 
Acacia armata is suitable for window boxes or drawing room 
decoration, as it makes a compact bush and is very floriferous; the 
bright yellow flowers make a grand contrast with the dark green 
foliage. The Indian Daphne (Daphne indica), white and red 
varieties, are both worthy of a place, as their perfume is almost 
unsurpassed. Care should be taken that these are not overpotted, 
as they are of very slow growth, and consequently should be kept 
in small pots. 
Correas should not be omitted, as there are several species and 
many more varieties that are really worth growing. Their leathery 
leaves and bright tubular flowers render them very attractive. I 
have found them do best in a light airy house, but they should not be 
exposed too much to the sun. When well managed they continue 
flowering for upwards of six months during spring and early 
summer. Correa cardinalis, C. ventricosa, and C. pulchella are 
amongst the brightest colours. Another plant with flowers similar 
in shaoe to the Correa is Agapetes buxifolia ; it is very showy when 
well flowered, but does not make a good shaped plant. It also 
requires rather warmer treatment. Of Agathosmas, rugosa, hispida, 
and vestita are about the best of the genus. When in flower they 
are exceedingly attractive, and the foliage gives off at all times a 
very sweet fragrance. The flowers are produced on terminal heads, 
not unlike the Pimelea, and are mostly white or shades of lilac. 
Being from the Cape they require cool treatment, and should 
always be placed at the coolest end of the house. They are peat- 
loving plants, and well repay for a little extra attention. 
Eutaxia myrtifolia and Aotus gracillima both deserve to be well 
grown. The flowers of each are small, but produced very freely on 
the long slender shoots, and being crimson and gold the colour is 
very attractive. Hibbertia stricta has bright yellow flowers, and 
being a plant of slow growth it makes a useful addition. The 
individual, flowers soon fall, but as others open to take their places 
the plants remain a long time in perfection. I might greatly 
extend my list, as there are so many worth noting here ; but a 
few notes on them another time may be of use to some readers. 
I have omitted some of those that are more generally known, 
such as Epacrises, Chorozemas, Grevilleas, Pimeleas, &c., for that 
reason. 
One word in conclusion. As hardwooded plants are mostly of 
slow growth, and the delicate roots soon suffer from an over supply 
■of water as much as by an insufficiency, the greatest care is needed, 
and soft rain water should always be used if obtainable.—F. G. 
WASHING THE ROOTS OF YOUNG VINES. 
Your correspondent, “Practical,” April 11th, page 299, states that 
the above is new to him, and that he does not think it necessary except 
where roots are affected with fungi. I should like to remind him of 
another great reason which has occurred in my experience and also that 
of many others for washing roots. About fourteen years since I was 
employed in the neithbourhcod of London, and well remember the 
trouble which the phylloxera caused in more than one garden, and in 
my previous situation the Vines would not thrive when I took charge of 
them, and as a matter of course caused me considerable amount of deep 
3 .9 
anxiety, being m}' first charge. One day I examined the roots in the 
outside border, and discovered a strange looking root swollen at the 
point and of singular appearance, very smooth and contracted a short 
distance from the point. This was proved to be the effect of phylloxera. 
The next winter the Vines were destroyed, the soil all removed to a 
distance, a concrete placed in the bottom of the border, walls washed 
with boiling hot lime, house painted, and the border left empty during 
the winter. The roots were quite eaten out in the inside border, which 
was dry when taken out, but not so much affected in the outside where 
it was usually moist. Another vinery not more than 50 feet distant was 
not affected, and never has been since. 
A new border was made the following spring, and now we come to 
the washing out of the root3. This method was adopted as a precaution, 
to be doubly sure, so to speak, when Vines coine from a distance and 
phylloxera was so commonly distributed, but it was not new to me. 
Mr. David Thomson, in his “ Fruit Culture under Glass,” says :— 
“ Thoroughly divest the roots of all the soil, wash them in tepid water, 
and disentangle them carefully.” I entirely agree with him in all 
points, because I have not found the water to do any damage, and in the 
case of this most destructive insect it may prove to be good. It enables 
one to thoroughly examine the roots. I have not heard of any phyl¬ 
loxera in England for some years, and trust we never shall again.— 
George Harris. 
GRAFTED ABUTILONS FOR ROOM DECORATION. 
The free growth and equally free-flowering propensities of Abutilons 
render them invaluable for various decorative purposes. Of late years 
FIG. 57.— A STANDARD ABUTILON VEXILLARIUM. 
a great advance has been made on the old Darwinitype, both as regards 
the size and variety of colouring, as well as the form of the flowers ; 
it is not to this species that these notes are intended to refer; still a 
passing glance is requisite, owing to the fact of raising plants of this 
section from seed as a basis for our operations. 
As is generally the case, in raising a number of seedlings of any kind 
of jilant there are a certain per-centage of inferior merit. These are 
usually consigned to the rubbish heap ; but, as I will endeavour to show, 
apparently worthless Abutilons can be converted into specimens of 
gracefulness and beauty that will prove a source of attractiveness to 
their owners. I will desire those who have a number of such plants on 
hand to select those having clean straight stems of from 9 to 15 inches 
in height, and of not less than three-sixteenths of an inch in diameter at 
the top ; these can have the soil shaken from the roots, and such reduc¬ 
tions made as to enable them to be placed in pots of mt more than 
6 inches in diameter, or smaller if possible, as it will be found particu¬ 
larly convenient to have the plant in a diminutive receptacle when it is 
desired to utilise it for table decoration. The roots can be reduced with 
a free hand, as they will, when placed in a moist genial temperature, 
