January 22. 
THE COTTAGE GARDENER. 
257 
flowers, shaded with their beautiful, velvet-like leaves. 
The larger calyxes remind us of the large hairy helmets 
of some of our horse soldiers. The plant is as yet very 
rare, but as it is not difficult to propagate, and is already 
in the nurseryman’s hands, it will soon be come-at-able. 
Culture. —The above description of the native locality 
in which this curious and handsome plant was found, 
points out the proper mode of culture. If all our collec¬ 
tors were to send home, along with the plants they 
obtain, such an accurate description of the way and 
situation in which the plants grow, we should have but 
little difficulty, with the means we possess, of cultivating 
them successfully. Four points are necessary to attend 
to in growing this plant—shade and moisture, a high 
temperature, and a loose open material for the roots. 
All these may be attained in our stoves, but more espe¬ 
cially in the orchid house. As it partakes, in its pecu¬ 
liar locality, growing on the dead stumps of trees and 
sending its roots downwards, in much of the habit of 
some orchids, the soil to pot it in should be of similar 
materials in which we cultivate that class of plants; 
that is, a composition of rough lumps of peat, half- 
decayed leaves, mixed with pieces of decaying wood and 
charcoal; the pots to he well drained. The plant, at the 
time of potting in the spring, should he placed in the 
centre of a large pot, the materials put in around it, and 
the surface covered with green moss. Place it in a 
shady part of the stove or orchid house; supply it with 
plenty of moisture in the air, and frequently syringe it 
overhead with water, having the same temperature as 
the air of the house. It is a continually growing plant, 
and, therefore, requires constant moisture; but as all 
plants require, to a certain degree, a period of rest during 
the winter months, the heat and moisture should be 
then more moderate, but water at the root should be 
never entirely withheld. In the spring and summer, 
when freely growing, it ought to be shaded from the 
bright rays of the sun; yet the cultivator must remem¬ 
ber that, in the deep shades of a South American forest, 
the excessive light of those regions penetrates so much 
as to equal our daylight when the sun does not shine ; 
therefore in cloudy weather let the plants have the full 
light of day; or, in other words, remove the shade when¬ 
ever the sun does not shine clear and bright. 
Like all the order of Gesnerworts, this plant increases 
readily by cuttings. Short shoots frequently push forth 
from the stem, and if taken off when young make the 
best cuttings. Insert them in sand under bell-glasses, 
taking care that the leaves do not come in actual con¬ 
tact with the glass. Plunge the cutting-pots up to the ■ 
brim in a moderately heated tan-bed, or set them upon ! 
a heated bed of sand, coal-aslies, or fine charcoal, any of 
which are excellent for the purpose. As soon as they 
are rooted pot them, and repot every five or six weeks, | 
till the plants attain a large size, and are fit to put into 
blooming pots from eight to twelve inches wide; then 
treat them as the older plants described above. 
T. APPLEBY. 
MR. GLENNY ON FLORISTS’ FLOWERS. 
B. T.—The white, funnel-shaped flower from Norfolk 
! is not new; it is a Brugmansia, and was raised years 
ago by Knight (of Battle, we believe), and named by us, 
at the time, B. Knightii. It is far superior to the old 
and well-known Datura arborea, being double, whereas 
that is single. 
Pansies [T. Kean). —Not one of them is in colour or 
character as it will be in spring, although bloomed in 
pots and under glass. We must defer opinions till then. 
Mr. Henderson’s Traveller is quite mistaken as to 
the enclosure of a sovereign operating upon our opinions 
of dowsers; and that it was wrong of him to mislead a 
Fulham nurseryman by stating that which was untrue, 
and if he inquires, his much-respected employer will tell 
him so. The only compliments wo ever received, was 
an occasional plant of anything we had praised, the j 
raiser thinking, perhaps, that we should not object to 
grow a thing of which we had given a good opinion. 
There is no man living can accuse us of taking a bribe, 
or selling our opinion. 
Cinerarias ( H. D). —All three may be good in sea¬ 
son, but there is no such thing as a flower in proper 
character now. We suspect the colours will be more 
intense, and the white purer, when the plants attain 
more strength, and the season comes round for bloom- j 
ing. The one without a notch is promising, but we ' 
can say no more. 
J. S. —The bulb of Hyacinth sent was bad from the 
first, there is no fault in the water nor the growth. A 
very experienced dealer could have told it was bad; and I 
nearly all going bad alike is no fault in the grower, 
except his first fault of buying at the Auction Mart, 
where diseased roots are sold by thousands every au¬ 
tumn. It may, as J. S. says, be vexing; but if amateurs 
will not deal with respectable persons, they deserve to 
be taken in. Where can growers get rid of worthless 
bulbs so well as by auction, to people fond of bargains? 
VERBENA CULTURE FOR EXHIBITING. 
(Continued from page 232.) 
Protecting when in Bloom. —As soon as the flowers 
begin to expand, they require to be sheltered from the 
bright rays of the sun, and the rough, ungenial storms 
of rain, wind, or hail, that often visit us in the early 
part of the year. Those in pots, in frames, are very 
easily protected from too bright sun, by a covering of 
thin canvass. This is far preferable to mats, because 
the rays of the sun are sufficiently tempered with the 
canvass, without excluding too much light; whereas 
the mat causes too dark a shade, and thereby injures the 
colour of the flowers, besides very sensibly impairing 
the health of the plants. The way we manage is to 
procure the canvass wide enough to reach across the 
frame; it is then rolled out the whole length of the 
frame or pit, and cut oil’ the exact size, leaving a small 
portion at each end to double over two round pieces of 
wood that are just as long as the frame is wide. To 
these the canvass is nailed, with short, flat-headed nails. 
One of these pieces of wood is fastened firmly at one 
end, and the other is loose to roll the canvass on. When 
the sun is powerful enough to spoil the colours of the 
flowers, the canvass is rolled out, and firmly fastened at 
the other end with short strings of strong cord; this 
keeps the canvass stretched out, even in windy weather, 
and effectually answers the purpose. The cultivator, 
however, must be careful not to shade too much. It 
should not be used too early in the morning, and should 
be removed as soon as the sun’s power begins to decline 
in the afternoon; should clouds intervene during the 
day, remove the shade immediately. The light is need¬ 
ful to bring out the colours bright and distinct. In 
using the shade, another point must be attended to, and 
that is to reduce the air. Shade reduces the heat; aud 
to prevent a too great and sudden change, the stream of 
fresh air rushing in behind the frame should be lessened, 
but when the shade is removed more air may be given. 
This, of course, depends upon the state of the external 
atmosphere at the time, and in this particular the ope¬ 
rator must exercise his own judgment. 
Shelter for Verbenas that are planted out in the beds.— 
Though tiie verbena is, comparatively speaking, a hardy 
plant, yet to bloom it to perfection, so as to be able 
with certainty to place flowers fit to compete with upon 
the exhibition table, protection from ungenial weather 
is indispensable. The necessity for this shelter caused 
