PIMELIA. SPECTABILIS. 
137 
termined and explained. The first point in the culture of this 
plant is, then, the mode of propagation ; and, as grafting appears 
to have so decided an advantage, I shall proceed to describe the 
manner in which it is done. The stocks should be healthy young 
plants of the allied species, P. decussata, from two to three years 
old; the period most suitable for the operation is from May till 
August: at any time between those months when wood about 
half ripened or rather more can be had from spectabilis. Let 
the stocks be cut over wherever the stem is of equal thickness 
with that of the scion : the cut should be a long slanting one, 
and that of the scion of exactly the same size, that the two, when 
placed together, may fit closely along their outer edges, as it is 
at the meeting of the bark that the union first takes place. When 
nicely fitted, let the joint be bound neatly and tight over so as to 
thoroughly exclude air. In the hands of an experienced propa¬ 
gator this operation occupies less than five minutes, and the ap¬ 
plication of anything besides the bast for binding is seldom 
necessary, though the amateur operator may possibly find an 
advantage in covering the whole with grafting wax, as it is es¬ 
sential to keep the joint from all drying influences. When com¬ 
plete the plant should be plunged into a moderate bottom heat, 
such as is afforded by a tan bed, and covered with a hand or bell 
glass, to prevent evaporation. I should have remarked, the leaves 
of the scion are removed from about the part where the joint is 
made, but are left untouched in every other part. The union 
takes place in about a fortnight, when air should be admitted by 
raising the glass an inch or two every day, but the increase must 
be effected in a gradual and careful way, as any check now, may 
prove fatal. It is always better to continue the plants in the 
heat until they have fairly started into a new growth, when they 
may be shifted with certainty, and will progress to the satisfac¬ 
tion of the cultivator. 
Their treatment after this is precisely that of mature plants, 
and may be thus described: the soil most suitable is a mixture of 
equal parts of loam, fresh from a pasture or common, with the turf 
chopped up in it • fibrous peat, used as roughly as is consistent 
with the size of the pots; and fine silver sand. These ingre¬ 
dients must be thoroughly incorporated, and a drainage of pot¬ 
sherds placed of sufficient depth to ensure a passage for all su- 
i. 12 
