142 
THE COTTAGE GAEDENEE. 
Novembee 25. 
our gardens live out the winter with little or no pro¬ 
tection; or, if they are grown in pots, they require 
abundance of air, and large supplies of water while in 
a growing state. They delight in deep, rich, light soil, 
well drained, except A. aurea, which will do in stiff, 
damp clay, as well as in common, rich, kitchen-garden 
soil. The species are exceedingly difficult to distinguish 
fi'om varieties, as much so as Calceolarias; and from 
one peculiarity common to them all, they are liable to 
cross each other in a state of nature: hence the great 
confusion in the names. This peculiarity is in the style, 
or female organ, which never ripens for the pollen till 
all the pollen is dead and gone in the same flower; but 
as the flowers do not all open at the same time, the 
stigma of the foremost flower gets fertilized by the 
pollen of the next that opens; meantime, it is as likely 
as not that strange pollen may find access when more 
than one kind grow together. 
Another genus, called Bomaria, is often confounded 
with. Alstriinieria; but the distinction between them is 
evident, without any knowledge of botanical points. All 
the Bomarias twine like hops, but none of the Alstrii- 
merias do. Some of my friends assert that they crossed 
Bomaria acutifolia with a species of Alstriimeria; but, I 
am so acquainted with the ways of both, that I would as 
soon believe in the union of the inan-in-the-moon with 
Diana of the Ephesians. Oollania and Spharine, two 
genera of which we have no species in cultivation, inter¬ 
vene between Alstriimeria and Bomaria) and, if any 
reliance can be placed on their characters, none of them 
would or could be crossed wdth either an Alstriimeria or 
Bomaria. I am thus particular, because, sooner or 
later, both of them will be great favourites with the 
cross-breeder. 
A. aurea, alias Aurantiaca (golden).—"Native of the 
Island of Chiloe; flowers orange, streaked with red, on 
stalks three to four feet high; quite hardy in England; 
seeds freely, and increases by the roots as fast as Spear- 
grass. It ought to be as common as Poppies. I have 
had it four feet high in clay so stiff that it could not be 
dug without dipping the spade in water every other 
thrust; and I believe it would grow in a marsh, or at 
the edges of ponds or lakes. None of the family like 
dry chalky soil. 
A. Gummingiaim. —Named after !Mr. Gumming, who 
first discovered it “on mountains near Valparaiso.” 
It comes nearest to Uooheriana; flowers all the 
summer and down to November, in the open air, and 
is as hardy, apparently, as a Crocus, if planted six 
inches deep in ricli loamy soil. The stalks are from 
ten to fifteen inches high, and the flowers of various 
colours—yellow, brown, and green, chiefly. 
A. caryopliyllaa (Clove-scented).—This is the proper 
name for the old A. liyiu, a stove plant, which requires 
light soil, and rest from October till March. It flowers 
soon after it begins to grow; and as soon as the stems 
cease growing the plants should be removed into a 
greenhouse for the rest of the season; without this 
I change it seldom flowers at all, and now it is very 
scarce. The flowers, crimson and white, are very 
handsome. 
A. limmantha (Blood-coloured). — Notwithstanding 
the name, the colour of the flowers is not much different 
from that of aurea; but in the meadows near Antuco, 
in South Chili, it sports naturally into white, vermillion, 
yellow, orange, and lemon colours. It is also the 
mother of thirty or forty varieties, called Turn Houi’s 
Alstromerias; and all of them rest three or four months, 
from July, and they ought to be taken up every second 
year, as they bury themselves deeper and deeper at every 
growth. A tulip bed, or one for hyacinths, made after 
the old florist school, suits them best, and they should 
be abundantly watered after they throw up for flower, 
and they grow slowly from November through the 
winter, and, if they appear above ground early in the 
spring, they ought to have a slight protection. 
A. Neillii.- —Named after the late Dr. Neil, of Edin¬ 
burgh, the best friend Scotch gardeners ever had. I am 
afraid this plant is lost; it was very difficult to manage. 
The flowers are of a very pink colour, with yellow 
blotches. I only saw one plant of this. It had all the 
appearance of being a genuine species, and wanted the 
twist in the leaf so common in the genus. Some of the 
species have been seen growing out of the clefts of the 
rocks, and this appears to me to be one of them. 
D. Beaton. 
{To he continued.) 
AZALEA JAPONICA.—WEEST PAEK. 
The comparing of notes some time ago, if report 
spoke true, seemed to be much enjoyed by our readers. 
None require to be more reminded that there may be 
unity amid the greatest apparent diversity, than those 
who make gardening a jfleasant recreation, or a pro¬ 
fessional pursuit. Often differences are more seeming 
than real; and the hair’s-breadth of advantage that one 
system possesses over another, can only be demonstrated 
when, with all their details, they are brought closely in 
contact. Without this we are too apt, from our imita¬ 
tive faculties, to chime in practically with the dogma, 
that “what is best administered is best,” while all the 
time there may be some little error in the very thing 
administered. A striking result so arrests the attention, 
that to equal the same, most people imagine that they 
must attend to every iota in a similar manner; while 
others, more experienced, and generally intelligent, can 
at once see, that in similar circumstances they can 
secure the same result with less trouble and expense. 
It would not be safe for the inexperienced to generalise, 
as their very ignorance might lead them to regard some 
apparently trifling matters as of no importance, though 
these, to the more conversant, would be regarded as the 
main cardinal points of the system. Hence, I find that 
the trifles of processes are the things about which young 
beginners chiefly concern themselves; by-and by they 
will find that comparatively a few principles will sus¬ 
tain them, instead of a long calendar of routines. In the 
meantime, discrepancies in practice sadly puzzle them ; 
they follow our advice this week, the opinion of another 
the week following, and the counsel of a third after¬ 
wards, and then how generally annoyed they are when 
result-time comes! Had they persisted in any one 
system all might have been satisfactory. They are told 
there are many ways to one end; and so there may 
be, and perhaps not one preferable to the others; but 
how or when is the end to bo gained, when, instead of 
following out one way to its termination, you keep 
scrambling from one way across to another? I would 
meet every doubt if I knew them, and could solve them, 
and reconcile discrepancies if not beyond my ability. 
"VVe are too constantly needing instruction to imagine 
we really know very much. Truth has been said to lie 
deep in a well; hence, few can see her, few find her, 
and many, with their cumbrous machinery, sink her 
deeper, and cover her out of sight. I believe she 
mirrors herself from the smooth surface of the unruffled 
pool at our feet, and when once wo fairly get a glance 
of her, the only wonder is, not anything about the ex¬ 
ceeding difficulty of finding )ier,but that we had been so 
blinded by pride and self-conceit as not to see her clearly 
before. We have all our pet systems, yet nothing would 
please us more than to be able to improve our favourite 
plans, or even put an extinguisher on them, and to adopt 
that which was decidedly superior. What better for this 
than the statement of difficulties and discrepancies, and 
the calm, friendly discussion of any difi'erences. Thus, 
