450 
THE ERICE/E. 
of being crowded together, and seldom prosper uuless kept at a consi¬ 
derable distance from each other. Fire heat is generally injurious, 
and should never be used except to prevent the plants from being injur¬ 
ed by frost. The greater part of them might be kept, thro’ the winter, 
in a common frame, if any plan could be adopted to ensure a dry at¬ 
mosphere. The system of high potting Vol 1 p. 456, which by many 
has been thought a great advantage, was first introduced by Mr. M ’Nab, 
of the Edinburgh Botanic Garden, whose excellent pamphlet on heaths 
you reviewed in Vol 1, page 455. The system has since been adopted 
by Mr. Bow, of Lower Broughton, near Manchester, one of the best 
heath-growers in this country, and in both the Liverpool and Man¬ 
chester Botanic Gardens. These plants are not very subject to attack 
by insects, but if troubled with the Aphis or green fly, the usual s s- 
tem of smoking with tobacco must not be resorted to, for they are very 
impatient of smoke, and after being subjected to it several times, they 
not unfrequently die without any apparent cause. The best growers 
make a practise of dipping the infected plants in some tobacco water> 
or if they be too large, they syringe them with it, and afterwards 
syringe them with pure water. 
Propagation. The stronger growing sorts should have the cuttings 
made rather larger than the dwarf growers; it is the custom with many 
to place some of the latter in a hothouse for awhile, to draw the cuttings 
a sufficient length. When the young shoots are about an inch long, 
take off the cuttings, handling them delicately whilst trimming; some 
cast them into a pan of water, until a sufficient number are trimmed 
t o fill a pot; others object to this system as injurious. The fact is 
that some of the strong growing sorts are in no respect damaged by iq 
but others of a more delicate foliage and slender growth are often 
destined by being thus saturated with moisture. As regards the 
filling of the pots, this may be done either with finely sifted peat, to 
within an inch of the top, the remainder being a covering of fine sand; 
or the whole pot may be filled with sand, as stated in Mr. M’Nab’s 
pamphlet, page 456, and which appears to answer the best. For 
although they may strike equally well in both materials, under proper 
treatment, yet when they are taken up for potting, the fibres are not 
so liable to be broken in sand as peat. Whatever the pots are filled 
with, they must have plenty of drainage. The cuttings may then be 
planted with a small dibber about the size of a quill, then having 
watered with a fine syringe, until the whole soil is saturated, place on 
a glass, and set the pot in the liont of a greenhouse. If the weather 
be fine, it is very likely the plants may require watering with a very 
tine lose almost every morning, during the first week or two, and 
