April 10.] 
THE COTTAGE GARDENER. 
23 
which might be avoided: first, by cutting off all the 
side shoots to the desired height, leaving them as smooth 
as a walking stick ; they will be sure to push plenty of 
shoots in summer, all of which must be removed, except 
one or two at the top. Then, again, the trouble of 
tracing out a length of roots is quite needless, nay 
injurious, as if kept they only insure an abundant 
supply of suckers, which are always disagreeable fellows 
to contend with; from six to twelve inches length of 
roots are quite enough, though we will not quarrel with 
several of them; and from these everything like inci¬ 
pient shoots and buds should be carefully removed 
before planting. Then they should not be planted shal¬ 
low, but the roots should be at least six inches below the 
surface, for whenever dog-rose roots come very near the 
surface, they are so full of buds that shoots will be 
protruded that will rise to the surface in the shape of 
suckers. The soil can scarcely be too rich for this 
purpose, and a good mulching from rotten dung laid 
over them ; and a watering with manure-water in May, 
will cause the bark to run more freely in June, and more 
early. If many are planted, a double rail of rods may 
be tied together, to which to fasten the sticks and the 
shoots when budded, as for want of a support many 
a bud is lost. Any one who wishes such stocks must pro- 
i cure them now without delay. There is a great deal of 
; pleasure in budding. Those who care nothing for this, 
\ but love roses, had better apply to their nurserymen, 
! who can supply them much cheaper than they can do 
! themselves. R. Fish. 
GREENHOUSE AND WINDOW 
GARDENING. 
Pimelea. —This is an interesting family of plants, 
consisting of neat bushy undershrubs that bloom chiefly 
in spring and early summer. Most of them are natives 
of New Holland, and the neighbourhood of the Swan 
River. 
Estimate of Species and Varieties. —The great pro¬ 
portion of these produce whitish flowers, arranged in 
close terminal heads, or corymbs, of bloom at the points 
of the shoots. One of the most pleasing of these is 
Pimelea incana, and that more from the singularity of its 
hoary stems, and its red stamens peeping through its 
white petals, than from anything strikingly beautiful. 
Another rather interesting is the P. drupacea, or cherry- 
fruited ; a compact little shrub, flowering in May, and 
followed by black berry-like sessile fruit, which when 
numerous are pretty; and the plant is also among the 
hardiest, thriving tolerably against a warm conservative 
wall. The species -with rose and pinkish flowers are, 
however, the most beautiful, and a few of these I will 
now mention. 
P. decussata, so called because the leaves are arranged 
in pairs that alternately cross each other. This is, 
though an old, still a very useful plant; and when close 
and compact in its habit of growth, neither bearing the 
traces of neglect, nor the flat-headed rounded decrepi¬ 
tude-look of age, it is very beautiful when clothed with 
its reddish rose-coloured blooms. To keep this species 
compact and bushy, more fibry loam is necessary than 
for the most of the species. It is apt to grow too free 
and lanky when it has too much peat to revel in. 
P. diosmafolia (Diosma-leaved).—A pretty, compact, 
low shrub, growing from one to three feet in height, 
with rose-coloured flowers, and blooming freely in the 
spring and summer months. 
P. hispula. —An elegant little shrub, with stiff bristly 
hairs ; from to 3 feet in height; and having nume- 
i roils blush, red and whitish flowers. 
P. sylvestris. — An elegant middle-sized shrub with 
blush flowers ; flowering in a cool greenhouse about 
Midsummer. 
P. intermedia. —A pretty graceful plant, clothed gene¬ 
rally with light pink masses of flowers; blooms in 
spring and summer. 
P. rosea. —An elegant little bush, from 1 to 3 feet in 
height, and adorned with rosy red flowers. 
P. rosea Hendersonii. —A superior variety to the last; 
the colour is much deeper and more elegant, and if any 
thing the habit of growth is superior. 
P. spectabilis. —A most beautiful thing ; mode of 
growth rather slender and graceful; flower-heads very 
large; light flesh colour, with a dash of pink when 
well exposed to sun and air. This species blooms beau¬ 
tifully in winter in a temperature of from 40° to 47° at 
night; and, therefore, when wanted to grace exhibition 
tables in May and June, it must be kept very cool and 
airy during the winter. 
P. macrocephala. —Another large flowering sort, and 
somewhat similar in colour to the last; light pink; 
leaves large, and habit of the plant erect, growing from 
3 to 4 feet in height. This is the newest, introduced by 
Messrs. Pince and Lucombe of Exeter, and is almost 
the only one of the group which, at one time or another, 
we have not seen. If it sustains the character given, it 
will be worthy of ranking with Spectabilis and Hender¬ 
sonii, which previously were the two most desirable for 
small collections. 
Propagation. By Seed. —This should be saved in the 
heads, without rubbing out, during the winter, unless in 
the case of early-flowering sorts, or such as have been 
slightly forwarded, so that the seeds may be ripe shortly 
after midsummer, in which case they may be sown at 
once in dampish soil in pots, and covered with a square 
of glass, giving but little water until the seedlings 
appear. As a general rule, fresh gathered seeds require 
less moisture in vegetating than those which, from being 
gathered sometime, have become more indurated. In 
the case of old seeds, moisture should also be given 
with caution, as its quick absorption, even when vitality 
still exists, will be too apt to end in rottenness and 
decay. But in general, the seeds, being kept dry in the 
heads all the winter, may be sown with most advantage 
in well drained pots, in sandy peat, in March, covered 
with a square of glass, and then plunged in a sweet, 
gentle hotbed. 
By Guttings. — If any shoots have missed having 
flower-heads at their points, these points will proceed to 
grow as the flower-buds commence to expand. In other 
instances, sometimes young shoots will protrude from 
behind the flower-heads. In either case an opportunity 
is afforded for obtaining a few early cuttings in March 
and April, the advantage of which is that the plants 
will be struck, potted off, and established in their pots 
before winter. When these young shoots are from one 
to two and a half inches in length, and getting just a 
little firm at the base, is the best time for taking them 
off', and inserting them in the cutting-pots. When cut¬ 
tings cannot be got by either of these means, we must 
wait until the beauty of the flowers is gone, then cut 
them all neatly off, give any little pruning that is neces¬ 
sary to regulate shape and outline, as the two-year-old 
wood will generally break freely enough, and then wait 
until young shoots [are formed, when as many may be 
thinned out as will be requisite for cuttings. Cuttings 
from older wood will strike; but then they require much 
longer time, are not so certain, and after all seldom give 
such healthy free growing plants. In preparing the 
cutting-pots, let them be three-fourths filled with drain¬ 
age, or place a smaller pot topsy-turvy inside of a larger 
one, and fill the space between to a similar height with 
drainage, then strew a little green moss to keep the drain¬ 
age clear, over that some lumpy fibry peat, over that finer 
sandy peat, and over all, from a quarter to half an inch 
of pure sand. If below this sand, or even blended with 
it, unless at the very surface, there is a little fine pounded 
