February 6.] 
THE COTTAGE GARDENER. 
291 
colours in plants to advantage. A number of years ago, 
a young man then, but now holding a respectable posi¬ 
tion as a metropolitan nurseryman, who had obtained 
much experience in the making up of small nosegays, 
used to say that no “posy” could be perfect, however line 
and rare tire flowers it contained, unless there were some 
sprigs of yellow—alike to enliven and blend the others 
in harmony. Some of our friends hold similar opinions, 
and despite the rage for novelty are not inclined to turn 
their backs upon good old useful plants; but they com¬ 
plain, first, that there is a difficulty in obtaining them, 
owing to many nurserymen not keeping them, and like¬ 
wise owing to the confusion of the nomenclature, as 
what is termed a Cytisus in one place, will be named a 
Genista in a second, and perhaps a Spartium in a third. 
And, secondly, they complain that when they do obtain 
a young healthy plant it generally gets sickly, and loses 
the most of its leaves before the winter arrives. 
However scarce such plants may be in some places, 
they may be obtained in the neighbourhood of London 
in any quantity. Botanical nomenclature is not my 
province ; the nicety of description is left, and rightly, to 
practical scientific botanists, though, in the case before 
us, some striking peculiarity in the genera may be 
noticed at first sight; and with a little care the plants 
may be kept in health and luxuriance. 
The genera alluded to belong to the Monodelplious 
(stamens all united in a bundle) group of pea-blossomed 
leguminous plants; the seeds being produced in legumes 
like the pea. From a little fanciful resemblance in such 
pea blossoms to a butterfly, the blossom has been styled 
papilionaceous. On examining such a blossom, in the 
plants alluded to, the first thing that strikes the atten¬ 
tion is the large petal, standing nearly upright, called 
the standard ; the two smaller ones on each side denomi¬ 
nated wings, and the two petals generally smaller still, 
and so joined that without examination they would often 
be taken for one, and termed the Iceel, from their less or 
more striking resemblance to that part of a ship or boat. 
Now, keeping this in view, our young friends will be 
able to distinguish, with very little trouble, the leading 
characteristics of these different genera, now frequently, 
from their similarity, so much jumbled together. With 
respect to Spartium, the most striking circumstance is 
the smooth, round, shining green, rush-like appearance 
of the stems, which rendered the Spanish broom useful 
at one time for large ropes, hence the name from Sparton 
cordage; the leaves are lanceolate, and small, and soon 
fall off. The standard petal is large and rounded, and the 
Iceel sharp pointed. This genus is now confined to plants 
that will grow in our shrubberies, the tenderer kinds which 
once it possessed being transferred to Cytisus and Genista. 
The chief observable difference between them are, that 
in Cytisus the leaf-stalk is always terminated by three 
leaflets, the standard of the flower is ovate, the heel 
rounded obtusely, and shutting from observation the 
stamens and pistil. In Genista, on the other hand, the 
leaf-stalk generally terminates in three leaflets ; but some¬ 
times the leaf is simple, the standard is much longer for 
its width than in Cytisus, and the keel is oblong, not 
wholly inclosing the stamens and pistil. Although 
there is a great similarity between them as to the mode 
of flowering, yet, especially in those we shall mention, 
the racemes of flowers are longer in Cytisus than in 
Genista, and are therefore more elegant, as well as better 
fitted for cutting for nosegays. 
Cytisus racemosus, flowers in long spikes; blooms 
from January to May and June. 
C. racemosus latifolius, much the same, with the 
exception that the plant is more luxuriant, the leaves 
larger, and the spikes of bloom quite as good. Both 
originally from the Canaries, at least believed to be so. 
C. proliferus, yellow; habit much the same; very 
free flowering; blooms horn February to midsummer. 
We have seen a white variety; but perhaps the most 
interesting White Cytisus is the Laburnum filipes, intro¬ 
duced from Teneriffe about 1838. All things considered, i 
I give the first place to racemosus. j 
Genista canariensis, bright yellow flowers in small 
racemose spikes at the end of the branohlets ; small 
trifoliate leaflets; introduced from the Canaries two 
hundred years ago; blooms like the Cytisus racemosus, 
when a foot or eighteen inches high; but will make a 
fine bush of six or eight feet in height if desirable. 
G. Attleana, a seedling from Canariensis, and dif¬ 
fering only in blooming, if possible, more freely, and 
having longer racemes of flowers. 
G. linifolia, flowers largish, in short racemes; leaves 
shining, whitish, especially on the under side; habit of 
the plant not so compact as Canariensis, but the bloom is 
more showy; flowers from Christmas to June. Intro¬ 
duced more than a hundred years ago; is a native of 
Barbary and the south of Spain. 
G. rhodopn.ea, racemes of flowers longer than Cana¬ 
riensis, and very sweet, somewhat rose-scented; blooms 
from Christmas. 
G. Spachiana, largo showy spikes of flowers; intro¬ 
duced a few years ago from the Canaries. 
G. Virgata, handsome and slender in its habit; in¬ 
troduced from Madeira nearly a century ago ; grows to 
the size of three or four feet. 
Propagation. —These two genera require similar treat¬ 
ment. Young plants are easily raised from seeds sown 
as soon as ripe, or kept until the following spring. In 
the latter case it will be advisable to steep the seeds in 
warm water for a day or two before sowing them. In 
keeping the seeds, it is safest to keep them in the pods. In 
raising plants from seed many slight variations in habit 
and size of flower may be expected. They will not bloom 
until the second or third season. When six inches high, 
and sometime after being potted, they should bo stopped 
to make them bushy ; unless when it is desired to have 
a standard with a clean stem several feet in height, when 
one shoot should be encouraged until the necessary 
height is obtained. In such circumstances all side buds 
should be extracted as they appear, and when the termi¬ 
nal bud is picked out, and a few inches near the point 
from which the buds have not been extracted, a beauti¬ 
ful head is soon formed; and a few thus grown look very 
interesting when standing among dwarf bushy plants. 
For such a purpose seedlings are better than cuttings. 
When raising plants by the latter mode, young shoots, 
from two to three inches in length, answer best, obtained 
when fresh growth has taken place, after the flowering 
period is over, inserted in sand, above sandy peat and 
loam, with a bell-glass set over them, and put in a close 
frame. 
Soil. —Equal portions of roughisli peat and loam, with 
a little dried cow-dung as manure, and enough of silver 
sand, and pieces of charcoal to keep the compost mo¬ 
derately open, will answer well. Where these cannot be 
had, sandy rough loam will do ; but in this case, a top¬ 
dressing of decayed du,ng, or manure waterings, when 
the plants are dowering and growing, will be indis- 
pensible. 
Insects and General Treatment. —As they are compara¬ 
tively hardy, existing if frost is merely excluded, and 
even enduring, without much injury, several degrees of 
dry frost, though of course not presenting the same 
aspect as they do under regular greenhouse treatment; 
the chief difficulty in their management is keeping them 
clear of red spider, as they seem to be one of its chief 
delicacies. For this purpose, even in bright days in 
winter, when it can be done without injuring the bloom, 
a syringing with clean water, or clear soot water as the 
case may be, should be given them; and if there are hot 
water pipes, and if not a hot water plate will answer 
the same purpose, namely, brushing them with a solu- 
