G8 
THE FLORIST AND POMOLOGIST. 
[ March, 
vogue for this end, that it is unnecessary to advise naore than to hint at the 
simple mode of propagation, which was first illustrated at the French Inter¬ 
national in 1867, and which is being adopted by jnany now. I allude to striking 
all sorts of cuttings in sawdust. It is a more certain mode than any other. 
Greenhouses: Epacrises will now be very gay here in all their various colours. 
Where cut flowers are in request, they should seldom be trained into any shape, 
but allowed to grow in a natural manner, when they throw long graceful plumes 
of flowers from 1 ft. to 3 ft. long ; these are very handsome in vases, mixed with 
fern-fronds. Those out of flower with the late-flowering Heaths should be potted 
into larger pots, and placed in an intermediate place by themselves, if possible. 
All hard-wooded plants are best shifted now, before the warmer weather comes 
on, as they have a better chance to recover the shift in dull than in sunshiny 
weather. Tetratheca ericcefolia^ with its fine purple plumes, and Leucopogon 
lanceolatus, with its delicate, twiggy, white flowers, are both worth a place here. 
Rogiera gratissima, owing to its continual-blooming properties when grown in an 
intermediate house or the warm end of an azalea or heath-house, is invaluable 
during the winter and spring months ; this plant is best grown in loam and sand ; 
it never assumes the robustness in peat which is its characteristic in loam and 
river-sand. Rhododendron Princess Royal^ still beautifully in flower, though 
opening its first flowers in October, is another plant of first-class qualities ; in 
appearance it is like a dwarf high-coloured Luculia gratissima; it has, more¬ 
over, a delicate perfume when a blink of sunshine strikes it. 
Conservatoi'y: This is a good moment to plant out here what may be termed 
semi-creepers, such as Acacias^ Clianthus puniceus^ some of the Fuchias^ &c. 
Acacia Riceana is one of the most elegant of all this family, and is more or less 
beautiful all the year through ; whether in or out of flower, it is a never-tiring plant, 
thanks to its simple, graceful nature ; it makes rapid growth, when planted out 
—12 ft. or 14 ft., in a season. It is a good time now to make progress in giving 
all sorts of leaf-decorative plants, such as Draccenas^ Aralias^ Ficus^ Palms, 
Tree Ferns, and many other minor suchlike plants, a shift into larger pots. The 
tubers at the bottom of the Dracaenas might be cut off and potted in small 
pots, and put under a glass on tan in the pine-stove, and in this way a succession 
of these most useful of all plants are kept up. Dracaena indivisa and Cordyline 
indivisa, which are often confounded, are very distinct plants, and require very 
different treatment. The former has long narrow leaves, while the latter has 
shorter but very much broader leaves, with gold pencilling. The Cordyline is 
an easy enough plant to grow, provided it is left to grow on in the same pot, and 
not shifted too often into such large pots as used to be done ; hundreds of these 
plants have been lost through over-shifting, and using peat instead of pure loam 
and river-sand; leaf-mould is certain death to it, and peat is nearly as bad. 
Edgings of Selaginella {Lycopodium) should be renewed along side-walks, if 
required.— Henry Knight, Floors Castle. 
FRUITS. 
Pines: Fruiting-plants and such as are coming into bloom should have a 
temperature of 65° to 70° by night, with a rise of 10° in the day, allowing the 
house to run up to 90° with sun-heat; close at about 85°, and moisten every 
available surface with the syringe. If not already done, suckers may now be 
potted; clean pots 6 in. across will be large enough, and good turfy loam with a 
little peat added will form a suitable compost. Earn firmly into the pots, and 
plunge near the glass in a bottom-heat of 90°. Keep the pit close and moist; 
shade from mid-day sun, and withhold water for a fortnight, by which time new 
