POPULAR GARDEN PLANTS. 
489 
in new and improved varieties. Cuttings of the 
stems root freely in the spring if placed in a 
warm moist house in sandy soil. There is little 
danger of losing them except by their damping 
off at the base, through over-watering. They 
soon fill the pots with roots, when they should 
be repotted into 4-inch pots in May or June; 
they will not require to be repotted again until 
the following March, when they may be put 
into 7-inch pots. They should always stand in 
a sunny position, quite unshaded, in a warm airy 
house. They usually assume a bushy habit, but 
if they show a tendency to legginess the tops 
of the growths should be removed. It is a 
good plan to turn them out-of-doors after mid¬ 
summer, in a position well exposed to the 
sun. Let them have moderate supplies of 
water. They should be removed into a warm 
greenhouse before the cold nights. Well- 
established plants should be started into 
growth early in the year in order that they 
may make their growth before midsummer, 
to be turned out again about that time for the 
ripening process. This alternation of growth 
and of rest produces in a few years handsome 
flowering plants. 
Within recent years excellent work has been 
done in the raising of new and greatly improved 
varieties by French, English, and American 
growers. 
The best of the species are:—- 
P. Ackermanni. Stems broad; flowers rich scarlet. 
Mexico. 
P. crenatus. Stems very broad; flowers creamy-white 
and orange, fragrant. Honduras. 
P. grandis. Large flat stems; flowers white, fragrant. 
Honduras. 
P. Hookerii. Stems long; flowers with long slender 
tube, white, fragrant. Brazil. 
List op Garden Varieties. 
Adonis. Large, rose-pink; a good grower, free. 
Agatha. Pink-shaded salmon. 
Alice Wilson. Orange-scarlet. 
Brilliant. Vivid scarlet. 
Cooperii. Creamy-white, a large, elegant flower. 
JDelicatus. Pink-shaded salmon. 
Ensign. Deep-scarlet. 
Exquisite. Charming bright-rose. 
Favourite. Pale-rose. 
Gilbert Watson. Large white. 
Hecla. Light crimson-scarlet. 
Homer. Red, violet centre. 
Isabel Watson. Plat-stemmed, otherwise like J. T. 
Peacock. 
Jessica. Light soft-pink. 
J. T. Peacock. Rich magenta-shaded violet, large. 
Niobe. Deep-scarlet, purplish centre. 
Olivette. Rose-carmine. 
Orion. Orange-red, shaded with violet-p>urple. 
Plato. Brilliant scarlet. 
Jlefidgence. Dark glossy scarlet. 
Romeo. Light-red, pale-purple edge, distinct. 
Saizy Watson. Salmon-pink. 
Sirius. Bright rose-pink. 
Sunset. Fine rich deep-shaded crimson. 
Vesta. Large white. 
Poinsettia (Euphorbia pulcherrima) (fig. 597). 
—This fine autumn- and winter-flowering plant is 
a native of Mexico. The red variety stands un 
rivalled for the brilliant colouring of its scarlet 
Fig. 597.—Poinsettia. 
bracts, which, when well grown, will attain a 
length of 9 or 10 inches, lasting long on the 
plant. The flowers are yellow, but incon¬ 
spicuous. There is a white-bracted sort (alba) 
that is often grown as a companion to the 
above, but is not nearly so effective, although 
forming a nice contrast. The double variety 
(plenissima ) has the cymose inflorescence 
branched, and bearing, within the outer bracts, 
tufts of smaller but equally high-coloured 
bracts, which mature in succession, and much 
extend the flowering season. As a winter plant 
for a warm conservatory, the Poinsettia has few 
equals. It can be brought into bloom at dif¬ 
ferent times, giving a succession for eight or ten 
weeks. The flower-like heads of leafy bracts last 
long when cut, if kept in water. 
