July ]. 
THE COTTAGE GARDENER. 
Though gramlis is generally spoken of as blooming in 
spring, it might almost be described as a constant 
bloomer. In a house whose average lowest temperature 
seldom falls below 45°, and there should be a fair 
amount of sunshine, it will bloom profusely all the 
winter, and will continue to do so also in spring and 
early' summer. Its compact habit, gracefulness, and 
free flowering, will render it a universal favourite. 
Those who wish to have it had better obtain a nice little 
plant from the nursery, as it may now be easily got; 
then it may be grown freely. Our own experience leads 
to the conclusion that it does not grow fast at first, and 
that there is a particular period when it propagates by 
cuttings best, more likely to be known by the mercantile 
tradesman than the young amateur. Let us merely 
glance at a few features of cultivation. 
Propagation.—Bg seeds when these can be obtained. 
Soak in warm water twenty-four hours before sowing, 
and plunge in a gentle moist heat; or sow the seeds 
as they are taken from the pod, and before they are 
thoroughly hardened, but in this latter case be careful 
that the seeds are sown in earth not wet. 
The time for getting good cuttings will be when fresh 
growth is taking place, after you have slightly pruned, 
by removing flower-stalks, &c. The free blooming 
renders cutting-getting a matter of some research; but 
at most times, in narrowly examining the plant, you 
will find some nice little shoots, neither hard nor soft, 
but the medium between the two, and from half-an-inch 
to three inches in length ; these, taken off close to the 
stem, will make admirable cuttings, and should be in¬ 
serted in silver sand, over sandy peat, and covered with 
a bell-glass; treated as carefully as for heaths, kept in 
an average temperature of 50° by night, with a rise of 
10° for sunshine, and enough shade to keep them from 
flagging, and no more. The glass should be tilted a 
little at night to prevent damping. After the base of 
the cutting swells, a little bottom-heat will hasten the 
process of rooting. 
Potting. —Whether in the case of cuttings or seedlings, 
this should not be delayed after there are plenty of 
roots. The Soil, at first, should be sandy peat, with a 
little broken pots and charcoal; and the pots small, or 
several plants round the sides of a five-inch pot. In 
progressive shifting, a little leaf-mould, and very fibry 
loam may be added, which will have a tendency to render 
the growth more compact; but at all times it will be 
found that the plant will do best with the chief part of 
the soil consisting of peat. 
Temperature. —This has been indicated, but when 
bloom is not wanted, or it is desirable to keep it back, it 
will be uninjured at from 35° to 40°; but it will thrive 
better with from 5° to 10° more. When kept long in a 
low heat great care must be taken of the watering-pot, so 
as not to give too much. When growing freely, and well- 
drained, it can scarcely be over-watered after March, 
though, of course, the weather must regulate that. It 
may safely be set out of doors, in a shady place in sum¬ 
mer, after the wood is made and hardening. 
Insects. —The red spider is apt to seize on its delicate 
foliage. We have not yet seen a white scale on it, but 
that will very likely be a visitor ere long. Cleanliness 
is the best guardian against both. Washing and smo¬ 
thering will be the best remedy for the last; sulphur- 
fumes, syringing with clean water, and syringing with 
water in which lime and suphur have been blended, and 
allowed to stand until clear, are the best remedies for 
the first. 
Acrophyllum venosum (Sgnongrne verticillatum ).— 
There is always profit as well as pleasure when those 
engaged in the same object have an opportunity of 
personally comparing notes. The last meeting of the 
staff of The Cottage Gardener will not soon be for¬ 
gotten by them. Writing the word Synonyme alone 
215 i 
brought forcibly to my recollection what our friend Mr. 
Weaver said about the importance of giving synonymes. 
The deficiency in that respect will in a pet work, no 
doubt, be at least partially met, ere loDg, by a Supple¬ 
ment, along with corrections of errors, and an index of j 
new plants. It also reminds me that the beautiful 
plant named above is also known under the name of I 
Weinmannia venosa, —in that case being commemorative j 
of J. W. Weinmann. 
The name Acrophyllum is very appropriate, from 
words signifying the leaves at the top, as the leaves are 
chiefly produced on the branches above the flowers; 
these, in their spikes, are very beautiful, of a light 
pinkish colour, and appear altogether more like the 
Spircea frutex than any common plant I know. The 
leaves have a considerable amount of carmine mixed 
with the green, are saw-edged, and so hard and stiff as to 
resemble the Banksian family more than the Saxifrage 
alliance, to which the plant by its flowers belongs. 
When I grew it it was under the old name, and I found 
it no easy matter to strike it, even when cuttings were 
procurable. It is not even now at all very common, 
though a plant of it seldom appears at an exhibition 
table without its attracting those best judges of floral 
beauty—the ladies. There must, therefore, be little 
demand for it, or it is propagated not very easily. The 
following hints are from recollection. 
Propagation. —Any time during summer, young shoots, 
two or three inches in length, getting firm at their base, 
should be slipped off close to the stem, and inserted in 
silver sand, under a bell-glass. Young shoots rising 
from the roots, or the base of the stem, generally, when 
obtainable, make the best cuttings. The cuttings may 
be kept in a shady place, in a temperature not below 50°, 
and shaded only to prevent flagging, with air admitted 
at night to prevent drawing and damping. In potting, 
drainage must be particularly attended to. The soil 
should be open, and yet in such small pieces as to admit 
of going firmly together. Compost, three parts peat, 
one of turfy loam, and one of equal portions of charcoal, 
small pebbles, and broken pots. 
Temperature and position. —An airy place at all times, 
when the plant is growing, seldom below 45° in winter, 
and kept in an open airy situation in summer, the pot 
defended from the sun if out-of-doors, or the plant alto¬ 
gether kept on the front shelf of a greenhouse, where it 
can have plenty of light and a free current of air. I 
prefer the last position. 
Adenandra fragrans. —This plant will always com¬ 
mand attention when well grown, owing to the numbers 
of pinkish flowers it produces. Many of our readers 
may be better conversant with it as a Diosma. 
Its propagation is easy. The best time, if it blooms 
early, is to have short half-ripened shoots, from one- 
inch-and-a-half to two inches in length, which are soon 
produced after it has been pruned. This pruning should 
take place by removing all the flower-heads, &c., as soon 
as they begin to fade. If kept back, as respects flowering 
time, a few young shoots may generally be procured 
for cuttings. They merely require planting in sand, 
under a bell-glass, and care taken by an airy atmosphere 
outside of the glass, and tilting it a little at night, to 
prevent damping. Similar treatment to the Diosma will 
afterwards suit it. 
Soil. —Open and turfy, mostly sandy peat at first, and 
increasing the loam until it constitutes nearly one-half, 
as the plant comes to fill an eight or twelve-inch pot. 
Temperature from 35° to 45° in winter, a sheltered, airy | 
position out-of-doors in summer; or fully exposed, as 
respects the top of the plant, in a light airy greenhouse. 
If placed out of doors, house it again by the middle 
of September. 
Aotus gracillimus. — This is a beautiful slender 
shrub, with abundance of small, pea-shaped, yellowish 
