ANDROMEDA FLORIBUNDA. 
65 
declivity to the west, and, with the exception of a thin and dwarf 
hedge of privet, the plants are unprotected by shade or shelter of 
any kind. The subsoil is a strong and adhesive clay, and the 
beds in which the plants have usually been grown are about five 
feet in width. The bottom is made concave, and on this is placed 
about fifteen or eighteen inches of peat earth, with the edges of 
the clay bottom raised within a few inches of the surface. By 
this arrangement the plants are easily preserved in a moist state 
during dry weather by occasional waterings, and the direction of 
the beds being east and west, the excess of moisture, if any, can 
readily pass off at the lower end. 
It may also be worth while to mention some of those condi¬ 
tions which are observed to be decidedly adverse to the health of 
this species. In some instances it has been planted in a border 
on the south side of a brick wall, and exposed to a dry air, and 
the heat reflected from the bricks. Plants in this situation, after 
nearly two years’ attention, are very unhealthy. It is also to be 
remarked that, when kept in pots, no matter what the situation 
may have been, they have ultimately, and in the course of a few 
months, assumed an unhealthy appearance. In the garden of 
the Royal Botanical Society they have occasionally been kept in 
pots ; but in no instance have they continued in health when so 
treated. Perhaps no treatment to which this plant has ever been 
submitted appears so immediately prejudicial to its health as when 
placed in pots in a dry and hot situation, exposed to the rays of 
the sun, or within the influence of heat reflected from surround¬ 
ing objects, such as glass or brick walls. It is not, however, to 
be inferred from the preceding remarks that it is impossible, or 
even improbable, that the plant in question can be cultivated with 
success when the roots are confined with the limits of a garden pot. 
Indeed the progress of cultivation is such that the successful cul¬ 
tivation of any plant whatever is a matter of no uncertainty. 
Still, with ordinary treatment, it does thrive much better in the 
open ground than in pots. 
The most successful mode of increasing this admirable little 
shrub is by layering, and this operation is generally performed 
about the month of September ; the shoots require two years to 
root before they are taken off. 
The Andromeda Floribunda is a plant admirably adapted for 
forcing. The flowers expand freely in an elevated temperature, 
i. 6 
