NOVEMBER. 
251 
damp, or by tlie plants being injudiciously watered in dull weather. It appears 
like a slight down or pubescence, generally on the young shoots. When a plant 
is found to be infested with it, remove it from among others of the same genus, 
and dust it with sulphur. The sulphur may be put on with the finger and 
thumb ; or a box, with a perforated lid like a pepper bottle, may be used ; but 
better still, the sulphurator, which is a conical instrument, the base being a 
wooden lid which screws off, so that the instrument may be filled with sulphur. 
The sides are of leather, stretched on hoops, which gradually diminish towards 
the apex, which is a wooden mouthpiece, having a line wire netting, through 
which the sulphur is puffed on to the plants. But prevention is said to be 
better than cure; so to prevent it, get the wood w^ell ripened by fully exposing 
the plants to the light. Keep the house dry in dull weather, and be very careful 
not to over-water in winter. Avoid rust—that is a brown, withered appear¬ 
ance, which exposure to the cold cutting winds which prevail in spring produces. 
When such wnnds prevail, keep the weather side of the house closed ; but 
leave the ventilators at the bottom of the walls and the lee side of the house 
open, so as to keep up a current of fresh air. 
Of the training of Heaths comparatively little can be said; however, the 
stakes ought to be thin, painted to match the foliage, and finely pointed, so as 
not to injure the tender roots. Many of the best sorts require no staking, and 
must be kept regular by pinching out the points of the shoots; and such as 
E. hyemalis, E. Bowieana, and others of like habit, will require to have the flower- 
shoots cut out immediately after flowering. Some species, such as E. elegans, 
that are inclined to produce seed freely, ought to have the seed picked off as 
soon as it appears, as they often exhaust themselves in ripening! the seed, and 
die soon after. 
Much difference of opinion exists as to whether they ought to be kept in¬ 
doors, or put out during summer. I think it is of little consequence w r hich 
course is taken; but if they are left in, they must have plenty of room ; so I 
would advise putting part of them out. Prepare a bed of rubble, and cover it 
with ashes at least deep enough to plunge your pot in half-way down. Put out 
your plants about the beginning of June, and take them in about the beginning 
of September. 
A few remarks on watering and shading, and we have done with this part 
of our subject. Be very careful to water only w r hen the plant is dry; but 
remember that many species, and especially the more stunted-growing sorts, 
will never raise their heads again, if once they are allowed to droop for want 
of water. Syringe gently in the evening when they are growing, leaving 
plenty of air on so as to carry away the superfluous moisture. Shade only 
during bright sunshine—in fact, if the burning ray3 of the sun can be pre¬ 
vented from reaching the roots, there is no occasion for shading. Give all the 
air possible during summer, and winter too, in mild weather. 
Propagation comes next to be considered, and first by seed. The seed ought 
to be sown in May, in shallow pans, well drained, and filled with sandy peat. 
The seed-pans should be put into a cold frame, and kept close and moist until 
the seedlings come through the soil. They must then get air freely. They 
ought to remain in the seed pans during the first winter, and in spring they 
should be pricked out round the edges of three-inch pots. 
Second, by cuttings. Pots for cuttings should be filled to within about 
2 inches of the brim with drainage; a thin layer of peat fibre ought to 
cover the drainage, then about 1 inch of very sandy peat, and then fill up 
with fine washed silver sand. The cuttings ought to be taken in May from 
the young wood. They should be about an inch in length ; the foliage should 
be cut off the lower half, and the end trimmed with a sharp knife ; they may 
