258 
THE FLORIST AND POMOLOGIST. 
[ November, 
become attacked with green-fly, the insects should be carefully brushed off, this 
plan being preferable to smoking, and much more effectual. At all times when 
the weather is mild, plenty of air should be given. The lights should be kept off 
them as much as possible, and only shut down close in frosty weather. If the 
frost should be severe, they should be protected by matting the frame, but this is 
seldom necessary until the beginning of January. 
About the first week in February, if the weather is mild, the plants should be 
top-dressed. The surface of the soil should be stirred out about an inch deep, care 
being taken not to disturb the young fibres; and the pots should then be nearly 
filled with some fresh compost, consisting of two-thirds good old sheep dung, 
and one-third good fresh loam. The young offsets will derive great benefit from 
being repotted at this time; they should be potted into soil such as that de¬ 
scribed at page 141. As the plants will now begin to grow, they will require to 
be kept regularly watered, and cold frosty winds must be avoided by keeping the 
lights on. As they advance in growth, additional covering will be necessary, 
frost being very injurious to the blossoms. About the first week in March, the 
plants that will produce flowers should be removed to a south aspect, where if 
the foliage should become flaccid by the heat of the sun, a slight shading should 
be used for a short time in the middle of the day. As the truss advances in growth, 
it will be found that many varieties, particularly the Selfs, produce more pips than 
is necessary ; these should be thinned, taking out the smallest and any deformed 
pips, leaving only a sufficient number to make a perfect truss. 
When they come into bloom the plants should be removed to a shady situa¬ 
tion, facing the north, where they should receive as much air as can possibly be 
given them, or the blooming stems will grow up weakly. Some cultivators bloom 
them on wooden shelves, but I find them keep in bloom longer on a moist bottom, 
and under these conditions they require much less water. As soon as the plants 
have done blooming, they should be exposed to the open air as much as possible 
in some shady situation, and during the month of May they must be repotted. 
At this season they require to be well supplied with water, and should always be 
kept in a clean state.— John Ball, Slough. 
DIEFFENBACHIA BOWMANNI. 
PjjNE of the finest Dieffenbachias yet known, and therefore it is no matter of 
surprise that it has secured the First-Class Certificates both of the Royal 
Horticultural and the Royal Botanic Societies. It was discovered in 
(g? Brazil by the late Mr. Bowmann, who lost his life—as too many others 
have done—while collecting objects of ornament for our gardens. 
A peculiarity of this plant is its dense stocky habit of growth. The leaves 
grow to a large size, attaining a length of 2 ft. to 2^ ft. and a width of I ft. 
Their surface is of a pleasing tint of pale gree n, marked throughout with large, 
irregular, and unequal blotches or patches of a very deep green, the contrast 
