April 1, 
THE COTTAGE GARDENER. 
7 
vinery, if allowed to break naturally, would just suit 
them. An average temperature of 45°, with a rise of 
from 5° to 10° from sunshine, would not unduly accele¬ 
rate the swelling of the buds of the vines, while it 
would he sufficient to open the flower-buds of the 
heaths freely. The most of them, thus grown, would 
be fading by the time the buds of the vines had broken, 
when they might he cut hack and pruned. The higher 
temperature and closer atmosphere would cause them to 
break freely, and before the foliage of the vines caused 
too much shade they would be tit to he removed to the 
brick or earth pit, to finish the growth and ripen the 
new wood, ready to he brought hack again in the begin¬ 
ning of winter. In fact, the treatment detailed as 
suitable to epacris, would just suit this hardy hut 
beautiful and useful section. The following are a few of 
those that will answer best for this purpose. The first 
have small flowers, hut bloom most profusely. The 
second have mostly largish flowers, and bloom also 
freely. 
1st. E. floribundot, pale pink; persoluta, purple; per- 
soluta rubra, red ; persoluta alba , white ; Caffra, white ; 
regerminans, red; regerminans alba, white; gracilis 
autumnalis , red ; gracilis vernalis, red. 
2nd. E. hyemalis, pinkish red; rubra callg.v, white, 
tipped with pink; Wilmoreana, pinkish; Linnaeana, 
purplish red; Linnaoides superba, purple, whitish, 
vernalis, pink ; perspicua nana, pink ; cerinthoides, 
scarlet; cerinthoides superba, scarlet ; cerinthoides 
coronata, scarlet, fine; preestans, white; exurgans, 
and varieties, orange ; Monsoneana, white, &c., &c. 
R. Fish. 
CULTURE OF THE NEPENTHES. 
(Conibiued from page 383, Vol. vii.) 
Situation. —Though these singular plants may he 
! grown in the warmest part of a common stove, yet to 
grow them finely and to the greatest perfection, a house 
devoted entirely to them is very desirable. Those who 
i cidtivate orchids may manage them very satisfactorily 
! by placing them at one end ; in such a situation they 
i thrive well in the orchid-house in the Royal Gardens at 
I Kew, and also in the orchid-house at The Poles, near 
Ware, belonging to R. Hanbury, Esq. Mr. Rucker 
cultivated them in a house with a large tank in the 
centre, in which were grown the better kinds of stove 
aquatics. Messrs. Veitch, of Exeter, who possess, per¬ 
haps, the finest collection in Europe, cultivate them in 
a house by themselves, and with the greatest success. 
As a proof of this, we need only refer to the splendid 
specimens they exhibited last summer at the exhibitions 
in the Royal Botanic Gardens, Regent’s Park, and in 
the gardens at Chiswick. No doubt numbers of our 
readers had the pleasure of seeing them, and must have 
been surprised and delighted with such a grand display 
of these singularly interesting, curious, and well-grown 
plants. At Pine-Apple Place they are growing in a pro- 
pagating-house for stove plants, the heat and moisture 
of which is considerably more than the stove. There is 
j a tank of hot water under a bed of tanner’s hark, which 
keeps it at a regular high temperature. The pots con¬ 
taining the plants are set upon the hark, and green 
living moss is worked in amongst the pots, brought up 
to a level with the rims, and a thin covering over the 
earth in the pots. In this situation tiiey grow and 
flourish well. All these instances of various modes of 
growing them are given in the hope that some one or ! 
other may he made available to such cultivators as may ; 
read our periodical, and may he desirous to grow one or 
more of these curious plants. 
Soil. —The roots of Nepenthes are black, tough, and 
wiry, hut by no means fibrous; they run amongst the 
open loose surface in their native habitats, which sur¬ 
face is formed by fallen leaves, hits of sticks, and the 
moss that springs up amongst and over them, the whole 
resting upon a rocky substratum, constantly moist by 
the trickling water descending from the heights. This 
we imitate by procuring fibrous peat, small stones, half- 
rotten leaves, and bog moss; the latter to preponderate 
considerably above the rest. The pots should be well 
drained, for though these plants love moisture they do 
not like stagnant water. They will even grow mid¬ 
dling well in nothing but sphagnum; but the above 
addenda will he found to cause them to grow much 
stronger, and produce larger and finer pitchers. 
Propagation. — By Cuttings. This once was thought 
very difficult, but perseverance and art have succeeded 
in propagating them readily by this method. The best 
cuttings are made with single buds with a leaf attached. 
The way to do this is to cut a plant down and divide 
the stem into lengths, one leaf to each. The cut should 
he just in the centre, between each leaf; if the cut is 
made close to the leaf it is almost sure to perish, hut 
if there is a portion of the stem (about an inch or two 
long) left below it, and the cuttings are placed in right 
compost, and in a right heat, they are almost sure to 
strike root. The leaves must he left entire and unmu- 
tilated ; the least wound or crush will cause them to 
decay rapidly, and if the leaf decays the hud and stem 
, will surely follow. Young side, or even leading, shoots 
1 with two or three leaves on the top, and a portion of the 
' stem below, will strike root if very carefully managed; 
hut on account of the wood in that part being very 
tender, succulent, and full of sap, they are far more 
liable to decay than the more woody part of the stem 
with an older and less sappy leaf attached to each divi¬ 
sion. The next thing to consider is the size of the pots, 
and the material in which to plant the cuttings. The 
pots should be small, not more than three inches across, 
and a single cutting should he put into each, not in the 
middle, hut close to the side. The material or compost 
should be made as follows:—sphagnum, or hog moss, 
chopped very small, finely-sifted peat soil, and silver 
sand, in equal quantities; place about an inch of 
small broken potsherds at the bottom, fill in the com 
post quite level with the rim of the pot and make it 
firm; then take a short stick, rather thicker than the 
thickest cutting, thrust this dibber down the side of the 
pot, draw it out again, and immediately put in the cut¬ 
ting, close the compost firmly to it, and so proceed till 
all the cuttings are put in. Now, in order to cause them 
to grow, they must have bottom heat; where there is the 
convenience of a bed of tanner’s bark in good heat, that J 
is an excellent situation for them. Put on it a thin | 
covering of coal ashes or sand, press it down firmly, and 
set the pots of cuttings upon it. To prevent the leaves 
| from hanging down over the pot sides, tie each upright 
neatly to a stick, and then cover them tightly with a , 
hand-light; if it has a moveable top it will he the more 
convenient, because the top can he lifted off easily with¬ 
out disturbing the pots to examine the cuttings; give 
them water when the compost becomes dry, remove any 
that may die, and give any other little attention they may 
require; shade them from the bright rays of the sun, 
and in this situation they may remain quite close till 
they show evident signs of growth. Then give a little 
air daily, and gradually inure them to hear the full light 
of the day. Examine them occasionally by turning 
one of the most forward in growth out of the pot to see 
if roots are formed, and as soon as that takes place give j 
them larger pots, and treat them like the established ; 
plants. 
By Heed.. — It was stated in our first paper on this 
subject, that the Nepenthes is a dioecious plant, that is, 
it hears female flowers on one plant and male flowers on 
another, and that in order to produce seed, it is necessary 
