THE ERICE/E. 
449 
attending them is next to nothing, as they are done up for the night 
at six o’clock in the evening: and even in cold weather, do not re¬ 
quire any other attention till seven or eight o’clock next morning, 
and in mild weather not till five or six o’clock on the evening follow¬ 
ing. In consequence of the extraordinary degree of heat produced 
in the furnace (nearly 3,000 degrees of Fahr.) not only is the smoke 
consumed, after the fire has been burning for a short time, but all 
those noxious gases which attend flues heated in the ordinary man¬ 
ner are entirely destroyed. The gaseous steam produced by your 
furnace is by no means injurious to the most delicate plant, probably 
the reverse. Several plants submitted to its effects were not in the 
least injured ; neither does it appear, by a careful chemical analysis, 
that it contains anything injurious to vegetation.” 
FLORICULTURE. 
ARTICLE VI. 
ON THE CULTURE OF THE NATURAL ORDER ERICEiE, 
by t. k. s.— (Continued from page 360.) 
Blt:ria-(P. Blair, F. R. S.) This Genus differs but little inhabit 
from the Erica. All the species are natives of the Cape of Good 
Hope, and, therefore, require the shelter of the greenhouse. They 
may be propagated by young cuttings, planted in sand under a bell 
glass, and placed in a shady situation, without moist heat. 
Sympieza .-(Sympiezo, to press together) requires the same treat¬ 
ment as Blseria. 
Eri'ca. —( Ereiko , to break .) This Genus requires peculiar treat¬ 
ment to ensure perfection of growth, but it is not difficult to keep, 
provided that proper soil be obtained, and the situation in which it is 
placed, be suitable. The free growing kinds appear to thrive best in 
good black peat, and large sized pots, whilst the dwarf and hard- 
| wooded sorts always succeed better in a very sandy peat and small 
i pots, well drained with plenty of broken pots and bits of turfy peat, 
i They will not endure so much water as the free strong growing kinds, 
because they grow naturally in situations where there is little soil 
and less moisture. They require a considerable portion of air, without 
which thev are liable to be attacked by the mildew. If this should 
happen, keep a dry atmosphere by giving a free circulation, and 
syringe the plants with sulphur and water. They are very impatient 
