CHAPTER x:^. 
The Oleander ; Bouvardia ; Maiiernia Odorata. 
The Oleander is a native of the Holy Land, and Keblc alludes to it as fol 
lows : 
"In the flowery land of Palestine it is always found wherever rivers or water 
courses invite its Ihiisty roots. 
The banks of the Jordan are clothed with this beautiful plant, aptly styled "a 
gem among flowers; audit blooms at the overflow of that river, its roots being 
then partly mersed in water; yet it will endure the extreme heat and baked 
soil of an h. -ciLcrn summer when the brooks and rivers are shrunk into the nar- 
rowest streams." 
A rich turfy loam must be provided for it to grow in, and from the end of 
September until jNIarch or April, it should receive no more water than will pre- 
vent the soil from being crumbly ; and during the rest of the year it should 
have a most bountiful supply, and the tub or pot should be immersed in a saucer 
or a half tub fliled with water. 
It is very easily propagated by cuttings during the spring or summer months. 
They should be taken from the young shoots and cut off close under the fourth 
joint, cutting ofl" the three lower leaves, but without injuring the bark of the 
stem. 
The most simple way of rooting them is in vials of rainwater, hung in the 
windows of a warm room. The cuttings should not be deeper in the water than 
half way up to the second joint. In a short time tiny white roots wilt make their 
appearance, and when these are about half an inch long, take it carefully out 
and pot in light sandy soil ; keep moist and shaded from the sun until the 
bright color of the leaves show that the roots are giowing. 
Water and warmth will produce roots rapidly, but cannot sustain growth. 
So when cuttings are rooted in water, they should be transplanted as soon as 
the rootlets are from half an inch to an inch in length. 
Dwarf Oleanders that will flower the succeeding spring, when not over a foo 
high, can be produced as follows : 
Early in September or October, according to your climate, cut three to four 
joints from a topmost branch, leaving a joint at the end, strip off the leaves, 
take a six inch pot filled with turfy loam, and a little moss at the bottom of the 
pot, press it firmly in, and make holes around the edge of the pot about an inch 
and a half apart, pour into each hole half an inch of sand, and plant the cut- 
tings firmly in it. Cover the top of the pot an inch deep with sand, saturate 
