Jant;aT(Y 1. 
COUNTRY GENTLEMAN’S COMPANION. 
237 
from the foliage before the sun strikes it, or tiie peculiar i 
beauty of the I'olifige will soon become a deformiiy. i 
Were not similar inquiries made by those not quite ' 
so successful in growing them as our eorrespondeut, 1 ' 
need hardly have gone into any detail respecting their 
peculiar treatment, as many can grow them freely enough, 
and yet not Hower them at all to their satisfaction. It 
is one of their valuable properties, that small plants 
with only one stem may be made to bloom nicely in 
twelve or eigliteen months from the cuttings ; but as 
to getting a plant, however large, and with ever so many 
stems, to branch out into branchlets, and these respec- j 
tively to be all studded with flowers as we might ex- | 
pect in the case of a Fuchsia, that is not for a moment , 
to be expected, as the flowers are invariably produced | 
on the points of shoots that require a considerable time 
to perfect their growth, and, therefore, all stopping and ' 
pinching to produce hushuiess and side-shoots, unless at | 
the very first, when the shoots are only two or three ' 
inches in length, will secure you shoots and growth, but | 
not bloom, just as the lovers of bushiness deprive them- ' 
selves, at times, of the flowers of their Chrysanthemums j 
by nipping and stopping their points in August. 
The only mode by which a bushy and flowering habit | 
can be given to plants like these that bloom at the • 
points of the shoots, is, from a plant of two or three ! 
years of age, and upwards, to secure a certain number 
of young shoots, after pruning back, of equal strength, 
as nearly as may be, and then, after being fairly started, 
the weaker ones may be trained upright, and the 
stronger ones at some angle between the vertical and 
the horizontal, and then the plant will assume some¬ 
thing of the bush aspect. 
Those who have little room may have nice, flowering 
plants, with from one to three shoots, in small pots ranging 
from four to seven and eight inches in size. None need 
attempt the culture without the benefit of regular stove- 
heat during the growing period; and, like the Ixora, and 
some other tribes, though they flourish tolerably in such 
a stove, set on shelves, or platforms, they dearly 
love to be plunged in a hotbed of fermenting matter 
when making their growth, hut, as already stated, 
everything like steam should be avoided, and condensed 
moisture should be dissipated from the foliage before j 
the sun's rays strike forcibly. When I used to grow I 
this tribe, I found that, according to the treatment, the ^ 
flowers could be made to flower at almost any time; but ; 
it was very difficult to make them do so in the spring : 
months, as when kept growing in winter there was not 
enough of light to consolidate the growth sufficiently to 
perfect the flower-buds, and when grown late in autumn, 
and rooted, comparatively, in winter, either the rest was . 
apt to be too long, and thus the bud was injured, or the ! 
sun of declining autumn was hardly sufficient to perfect | 
the floral parts. Autumn, and the first months of 
winter are, therefore, the time in which they bloom most j 
perfectly, though I have seen them line ill June and' 
July, keeping this peculiarity in view, though by no 
means confining tbe period of bloom, or the exact 
period for performing peculiar operations, I shall now ! 
ad vert to the I 
General Treatment .—Just as in the case of the Vine, | 
well-ripened buds of this season are apt to be most | 
flower-bearing the next. From such buds, on well-ripened ' 
wood, I have obtained flowers on young shoots, on the I 
rapid continuous system of culture; but when that does j 
not seem likely to take place, the quick growth must be 
succeeded by a condensing ripening process before the 
flower-buds appear. Success may be attained without 
all the aids I shall mention. When they can be given, 
the success will be more general and certain. Supposing, 
then, that the plants we possess (Dec. 24th) have now, or 
during the next month, either finished blooming, or 
looking as if they would not do so, and supposing that 
we have made up our minds not to expect flowers from 
the latter, by keeping them comparatively low in 
temperature now, and with little water for a couple of 
months, and then to give a higher temperature and 
moisture to get them to show flower in spring, which I 
have sometimes done ; but that our object is to obtain 
nice flowering plants in autumn and early winter, then, 
the first thing to do, is to remove all the old flowers, 
and an inch or two of the softest of the wood at the 
point, in the case of shoots that have not flowered, 
keep these plants as much in the I'ght as possible, but 
withliold water, so as just to keep the foliage from flag¬ 
ging. By-and-by remove them where the atmosphere wil 1 
be dry, and reduce water still more, so as to harden the 
wood ; in fact, be as anxious to ripen the buds as if you 
were treating a Vine shoot that was to produce Grapes 
By February or March, under such treatment, the leaves 
will bo getting a little woe-begone in their appearance, 
and a few may be dropping. Provided the plants are 
kept dryish, they may now have an additional rest of a 
colder temperature, averaging from 1^° to 55°. When 
you intend to start them, say in April, or the end of 
March, set them in a temperature of about 65°. Prune 
back the shoots as if you were spur-juuning Vines, 
leaving just as many buds as you wish for shoots. 
Sometimes, to get a bush-like form from a young plant, 
I have twisted the shoots, or shoot, in a circular form, 
so as to make nearly every bud break ; but that is not 
required when you have a number of shoots to go to. 
After pruning, warm water must be communicated by 
degrees, so as gradually to wet the whole ball, and as 
the buds begin to push a little bottom-heat will bo 
beneficial. By the time the youi^ shoots are an inch 
long it will be advisable to sliift the plant into fresh 
soil. In doing so, pick away as much as possible of the 
old soil without injuring the roots, and either repot into 
a similar-sized pot, or one a size larger. The soil most 
suitable is a compost of fibry-peat, fibry-loam, a little 
leaf-mould, and a sufficiency of silver-sand, and bits of 
charcoal to keep it open, with good drainage, as a 
clogged soil is ruinous to all the tribe. Two things 
here deserve particular attention. First, the soil used 
should, at that season, be aired and warm, so that 
the roots receive not the slightest chilling effect, and 
when plunged again, if possible, warm water should be 
used for watering, at not less than 80°. 
The second is, that whether for young or older plants, 
rather small shifts and small ])ots should be used. 
Much of the early ripening of the flower-bud will 
depend on the pot being early w'ell stored and crammed 
with roots. A second shifting may be wanted in six 
weeks or so, and the same rule must apply. When thus 
growing, they will delight in a bottom-heat from fer¬ 
menting matter of from 80° to 90°, and a to|)-heat of 
from 70^^ to 85° by day. and from 60'-’ to 70° at night, 
with plenty of vajiour in the atmosphere, and as much 
sunshine as the leaves will bear uninjured. A slight 
shade when the leaves are young will be required on 
bright days. Manure waterings freely given will be 
preferable to using rich material in the compost. 
Under such treatment, young ])lant3 from well- 
ripened wood will frequently show bloom, when they 
should be raised out of the plunging material and 
placed in a drier atmosphere. But this will not gene¬ 
rally happen, and, therefore, when they have made 
nice shoots, from about four months’ growth, the mere 
encouragement to extension should be exchanged for 
consolidating growth. The plants, therefore, should bo 
elevated out of their plunging material, but not all at 
once, the pot be fully exposed, and the top of the ))lant 
be exposed to a high sunny temperature, and a drier 
atmosphere, with such a diminished supi)ly of wmter at 
the roots as will prevent the leaves withering. More air, 
and a cooler temperature, should also be maintained at 
