106 
THE EPACRIS. 
destroys the very part of the plant that should yield the greatest 
display. It may be argued that for every branch so stopped there 
are two or more produced, but if the course is persisted in, there 
will be a number of very short shoots, part only of which will be 
sufficiently matured to carry flowers, and these will be borne 
only a few together scattered in isolated patches. On this 
account I hold that the plants should not have their branches 
shortened but once a year after the second season of their 
existence; it is certainly necessary to stop young plants often 
that they may be induced to spread themselves near to the ground, 
but then no one would think of allowing small plants to bloom 
at all, and therefore nothing is lost; my remarks, however, are 
intended to apply only to the larger specimens which have 
arrived at a flowering age, and to make them the more intelligi¬ 
ble I will give an outline of my own practice. 
As soon as the plants have ceased to bloom, whether early or 
late in the spring, they are at once turned out of their pots, their 
roots examined, and then repotted into fresh earth and larger 
pots if requisite; at the same time all the branches are cut back 
to within about two inches of their origin, the plants are then set 
in a cold frame which is kept rather close, and after the plants 
have begun to move in an active manner, which will be in about 
a month, a humid atmosphere is kept up to encourage the de¬ 
velopment of their growth. This is easily managed by shading 
in the daytime and a liberal application of water about the floor 
of the frame or pit. When the shoots have attained a foot in 
length it becomes necessary to admit more air, and as this will 
necessarily dry the atmospherfe about the plants, a proper degree 
of maturity is brought about in a gradual manner, though as they 
will continue to grow till near the end of summer, aridity must 
be avoided by a plentiful supply of water to the roots and a 
gentle syringing at night; by this course, shoots from two to 
three feet long will be made by August, and if these are well 
ripened by exposing them to the full influence of the sun and air 
till the end of September, it becomes nearly a matter of certainty 
that flowers will be produced for more than two thirds their 
length, and thus long, densely-filled spikes will be had instead of 
a few widely-spread flowers; nor will the general appearance of 
the plant be at all injured but rather an improvement is effected. 
