324 THE COTTAGE GAKDENER. January 27. 
By these attentions daily attended to, the plants will, 
towards the end of Eebruary, be beginning to grow, and 
will then require a close looking over. Every decayed 
or decaying leaf should be carefully removed without in¬ 
juring the healthy ones or tlie stems, and diligent search 
made for the slugs and snails, and every one destroyed. 
Should worms be in the pots, they will show they are 
there by their casts on the surface of the earth. Gene¬ 
rally, they may bo got rid of by turning the ball of 
earth carefully out of the pot, and picking out the 
worms, which may be seen winding round the outside of 
the ball. Should they be inside, then, when the plant 
requires water, give it water impregnated with lime, this 
will effectually kill the worms. Water will, in Eebruary 
and March, be required more frequently and more 
liberally, to encourage the llovvor-stems and buds to 
appear strong and healthy; and thus I have been round 
the year, and then commences the top-dressing and 
attentions of the spring season. 
Propagation: By Offsets .—I have already incidentally 
mentioned these, when describing the operation of 
potting, but 1 must enlarge a little here. No oliset 
should be taken off until it has roots of its own. If very 
small, three or four offsets may be put round a pot close 
to the side, there to grow until they are strong enough to 
be put singly into small pots, but if moderately strong, 
they ntay be put into pots singly, in proportion to their 
size. In general, small 60’s will be large enough, which 
are about three inches diameter. In these they remain 
for twelve months, and are then to be potted into the 
same size as the established plants. Blooming plants 
are usually grown in small 32’s, which are 5^ inches 
across, inside measure. In these put the strongest year- 
old offsets, and they will bloom the next season. 
By Seed. —This, to increase the chances of improved 
varieties, should be saved only from flowers of first-rate 
properties; and further, to increase with a certainty of 
success, such as are intended for seed should, when in 
bloom, bo placed under a hand-light, far away from 
their inferiors. The seed-vessels are, in wet weather, very 
apt to turn mouldy and decay, and consequently destroy 
the seed also. The hand-light will prevent this also. 
Gather the seed as soon as it is ripe, and keep it in a 
dry room, hung up in a paper bag till the season arrives 
for sowing it. If you have the convenience of a green¬ 
house, hebruary will be the best time, but if not, sow a 
month later in a cold frame; sow the seed in shallow pans, 
well drained, in light compost; press the compost evenly 
down, and then give a gentle watering; sow the seed 
upon it while moist, and then cover it about the eighth- 
of-an-inch, and cover the pan with a flat piece of glass. 
It will not require watering, because the moisture in the 
earth below will rise up and moisten the covering. Place 
the pan as near the glass as convenient, and watch the 
j soil that it keeps moist. The seedlings will come uji in 
[ about a month’s time, and then remove the glass, or the 
plants will draw up weak. As soon as they can be handled 
with a pair of small sticks, transplant the seedlings into 
similar pans, similarily treated with respect to water, 
but without the glass covering; replace them on tho 
shelf near the glass, and when the sun shines, shade 
them. It may bo necessary to ti’ansplant them once 
more into fresh soil and fi’esh pans previously to 
potting them off into small (id's, and, indeed, is desirable 
to do so, if convenient, as it strengthens them greatly, 
and forwards their growth. 
Pot them off into pots as soon as they have made four 
or five leaves, and place them under a cold frame, 
shaded daily until fresh roots are formed; then subject 
them to the summer treatment, and pot the strongest 
into blooming-pots in September. These will bloom 
the following season. 'P. Appleby. 
{To be continued,) 
CONIFER^E. I 
{CoiUiiiiu'd from page 28 ( 1 .) 
PiNus.—This genus contains the greatest number of 
species of the whole tribe of Couiferm. It is distributed 
through almost every clime of tho world. The common 
Scotch Eir (Pinus sylvestris) is found growing to almost 
the utmost limit of vegetation on the cold mountains of 
Norway and Sweden, whilst other species inhabit the 
mountains of Mexico, in tho warmest latitudes. This 
universal distribution of these trees, sheltering man 
and beast both from cold and heat, is another great 
proof of tho benevolence of the Creator of all things 
towai’ds His creatures, enabling them to bear and exist 
in climates that would otherwise be uninhabitable. 
Erom the various species of this large division of Coni¬ 
fer®, mankind extract, besides timber, various sub¬ 
stances of great use in tho arts and manufactures of 
every-day life. Oil of turpentine, common and Bur¬ 
gundy pitch, Hungarian balsam, Bourdeaux turpen¬ 
tine, are obtained from this genus and administer to the 
wants of man ; and then he makes use of the wood for 
building his dwellings and for fuel, for which latter pur¬ 
pose it is admirably fitted, on account of the abundance 
of oily matters it contains. 
The trees belonging to the genus are found in various 
altitudes, some growing on lofty elevations, whilst others 
inhabit valleys almost down to the sea-shorc. The 
genus is distinguished by the great length of the leaves, 
which grow in sheaths or bundles; by the cones, which 
are oval, and have their carpels, or scales, thickened at the 
top, so as to hide the bracts; and their carpels are persis¬ 
tent, remaining attached to the axil of tho cone for years 
after tho seeds have been shed. The cones, too, in 
contradistinction to the cones of tho Spruce tribe, are 
generally erect, that is, the small end points upwards. 
By these marks the Pines may be easily distinguished 
from other genera. 
It is somewhat remarkable that there are, in this 
genus, a certain number of species that have two leaves 
only in each sheath, others three, and others five in 
each bundle. And as this is not a chance afi’air, but is 
regular and constant, 1 shall arrange the species in my 
enumeration of them in three divisions:—1st. Such as 
have two leaves in a sheath. 2nd. Three. And 3rd. 
Such as have five leaves in a bundle or sheath. 
DIVISION 1st— LEAVES GENERALLY TWO IN A SHEATH. 
Pinus Austriaca (Austrian Pine).— A very hardy, 
robust-growing tree. It has been found to bear the sea 
breeze better than almost any other evergreen tree; 
hence it is important to the owners of laud so situated. 
Pinus Banksiana (Sir Joseph Banks’s Pine).—A 
native of the cold regions of Eludson’s Bay; a low- 
growing tree of considerable beauty. The natives of 
these inhospitable regions cover their huts with its 
branches, which, when covered with snow, look like so 
many enormous snowballs, and are, when heated with 
its logs of timber, warm and comfortable. It was named 
by Mr. Lambert in honour of that scientific and enter¬ 
prising botanist. Sir Joseph Banks. | 
Pinus brutja (Calabrian Pine). — Native of the j 
Calabrian mountains. It has a synonyme, P. conglome- 
rata, from the clusters of remarkably handsome long 
cones it produces. Perfectly hardy, and produces excel¬ 
lent timber. 
Pinus Eischeri (Dr. Fischer’s Pine).—So named by 
Mr. Booth, of Hamburgh, a celebrated nurseryman 
there. Very little is known of this species. 
Pinus Freiiontiana (Captain Fremont’s Pine).— 
Named in honour of that hardy, enterprising, and per¬ 
severing explorer of the regions of which it is a native, 
namely, tho mountains of Sierra Nevada, in California. 
It is a very remai'kable tree, producing its leaves some- 
