ZAUSCHNERIA CALIFORNICA. 
243 
devoid of frost does not destroy vegetation at once ; tender 
plants under its influence may turn yellow or brown, lose their 
leaves, and become unhealthy, but may generally be recovered 
with, proper means; while a single night’s frost, with the ther¬ 
mometer not nearly so much depressed, will totally kill them. 
The power and, indeed, the presence of frost seem to be 
dependent upon the amount of moisture present; at the same 
time, a perfectly dry article will show scarcely any signs of it, when 
a wet one will be be frozen very much: this may be readily 
proved by placing a wet and dry cloth side by side,—the condition 
of the first will scarcely be altered, and indeed it would remain 
precisely the same, but for the moisture it imbibes from the 
atmosphere, while that previously saturated will be completely 
stiffened. It is, then, the presence of fluids in the system of a 
plant we have most to dread when about to encounter the 
rigours of our seasons, and an excess is as much to be feared in 
our indigenous products as in those of an exotic character, for as 
surely as the power of steam will rive the hardest substance, so, 
by the power of the same principle—expansion, will frost rupture 
the replete vessels of any plant. 
This is a great fact for the study of all horticulturists ; we may 
have failed to convey its importance in the best manner, but the 
fact remains the same, and it is particularly worthy the attention 
of any who contemplate trying the hardihood of new subjects at 
this or any other season. It must be remembered that, to meet 
and resist an increase of cold, a diminution of moisture is neces¬ 
sary—a rule which applies to plants in all positions, and to be 
made a leading feature in the culture of such as the Zauschneria 
in particular. This plant, which appears, under ordinary cir¬ 
cumstances, to be one of the easiest to manage, may, nevertheless, 
receive considerable injury if neglected in the respect pointed 
out. It grows through the summer with the greatest freedom in 
common soil, but we would urge upon all who intend to leave it 
in the open air through the winter, to be first well assured it has 
ripened the greater portion of its recent growths, and that the 
spot on which it stands is well drained, or the loss of the plant 
may result. Propagation is effected by cuttings struck as is 
usual with half-hardy plants, or by seeds, which, sown in spring, 
