THE FLORIST. 
372 
when frosts have occurred in September, about the time when the 
flower-stems appeared, they have injured them, as at that stage they are 
succulent, and consequently tender, and are also then frequently broken 
by high winds. 
Although the Pampas Grass is not very particular about soil, pro¬ 
vided it be open, yet to ensure a rapid growth a deep rich soil, well 
manured, will be found desirable ; the plants should likewise be very 
liberally supplied with water during the period of active growth. The 
situation should be one fully exposed to the sun, with a dry subsoil, 
and as much as possible sheltered from high winds, which, as we have 
stated above, will sometimes break off the flower-stems when young, 
and thus rob the plant of a part of its beauty. The plant ceases to grow 
after November, and the frosts of winter will induce a state of rest, and 
may brown and even kill the upper parts of the leaves, in exposed 
places, down to the stem; but if the subsoil is dry no harm will happen, 
and on the return of warm weather a fresh growth will commence. 
The plant increases itself in bulk by forming a large increase of stoles, 
or new bundles of leaves, and with good treatment soon becomes a large 
specimen. 
This Grass has now become cheap, and the question of what can be 
done with it may now be discussed more fully than when its scarcity 
made it a pet, and of course the most prominent part of the lawn or 
flower-garden was allotted it. Although graceful in the extreme, we 
cannot bring ourselves to consider the flower-garden as exactly the 
place for this Grass. From March to July there is nothing in its 
appearance that can be considered ornamental; after the latter period 
the growth is very rapid, and it is then that its claims to an orna¬ 
mental plant can be fully appreciated. Speaking for ourselves, now we 
see what effect it is capable of producing, we intend selecting an open 
site for it, backed up with evergreens, against which the appearance of 
its silvery plumes would admirably contrast; it might also be formed 
into groups on the margins of lakes, or running streams of some magni¬ 
tude, for it would be bad taste to plant so grand a thing near a small 
pool or puny brook. If planted near water, the ground should be 
elevated above the ordinary level; for, unlike our own Carexes, this is 
not a bog plant, strictly speaking, but is found in a state of nature 
inhabiting the pampas (whence its name) of Buenos Ayres, level 
plains extending for hundreds of miles in La Plata, and reaching from 
near the shores of the* Atlantic to the foot of the Andes. On these 
immense plains, which contain but few varieties of plants, and scjircely 
any trees or shrubs, vegetation is exposed at times to extreme alter¬ 
nations of drought and floods—the pampas presenting at certain 
seasons all the appearance of a dry and parched vegetation, and at 
other times, of almost unequalled verdure. The period of blooming in 
this country corresponds with the summer of its native land, and we 
may infer from its native habitat that a sunny open exposure, with a 
dry state at the roots while in a dormant slate, and an abundant supply 
of moisture while growing, will very nearly approximate to the con¬ 
ditions of its native climate. 
The Pampas Grass may be propagated by division of its numerous 
