APHELANDRA CRISTATA. 
269 
character of the weather, that in the next and terminal stage of 
the plant’s progress, injury might ensue from the attacks of red 
spider and other insects, which are usually most abundant in dry 
weather, and make their advances with most effect when the con¬ 
dition of a plant hastening to maturity prevents the application 
of any certain remedy. Being aware, then, of what in all pro¬ 
bability awaited the plant if it was allowed to sink into a state 
of rest, I determined on again stopping the branches and in¬ 
ducing another growth, which would have the effect of deferring 
the evil period till the intensity of the summer’s heat should have 
declined somewhat, and also of increasing the beauty of the plant, 
providing sufficient time would still remain to perfect the addi¬ 
tional branches and permit the formation of bloom-buds. It was 
therefore very desirable to hasten the next development as much 
as possible, that it might not entrench on the remaining fine 
weather of autumn ; and accordingly, as soon as shifted, the 
plant was placed in a deep pit, which had held succession pine 
plants, but was at the time unoccupied. Here, without artificial 
heat, I contrived, by keeping the fights rather close, to obtain a 
temperature of70°, preserving the requisite humidity by shading 
in the middle of the day, and liberally watering both the plant, at 
the roots and over the foliage, and the floor of the pit, morning 
and evening. The consequence was another vigorous and per¬ 
fectly clean addition of branches, making now a total of eighteen 
terminal shoots, of sufficient strength to produce flowers, and the 
smaller ones, by a little management, were brought down, so as 
to furnish the bottom of the plant with an abundance of healthy 
foliage. The plant had now a circular outline, w r as three feet 
through the branches, and twenty inches high, and needed only 
to be kept rather dry to ensure the production of its blossoms. 
A month of fine weather determined the point, and, by reducing 
the quantity of water given to the earth in the pot, everything 
was finally accomplished by the beginning of October. The 
floor of the pit had been kept damp, in order to preserve the 
foliage in a healthy state, and when the plant was taken to the 
stove it was admitted to have reached the exact state desired. 
It is now a really splendid object, all the strong branches having 
produced each a large head of the peculiarly brilliant flowers 
which distinguish this species. 
