100 
THE COTTAGE GARDENER. 
[May 15. 
phere from which the consolidating influences of sun 
and air are excluded, comparatively speaking, and the 
plant in the following season will just be in as good a 
situation for growing (not flowering) as before. 
On the other hand, the plant may be so curbed in the 
pot, so deprived of water, so placed in an ojien situation in 
the house, and then so placed in the sun out of doors, that 
scarcely any growth at all will take place; or the little 
that does will be immediately stored up as flower-buds, 
upon the principle applicable to all organised existence, 
that in the period of weakness and extremity Nature 
puts forth an extra last effort to preserve the race. In 
such a case we may have plenty of flowers, but they will 
be small, and destitute of the background of a luxuriant 
green foliage. In general cases, therefore, we do not 
wish to do away with luxuriance altogether; what is 
more wished is, the directing of it into numerous chan¬ 
nels, and in each of these having the juices highly orga¬ 
nised ; or in other words, having the wood well ripened. 
The finer and larger the specimen, if the flowers are 
large and well set in proportion, the more beautiful will 
be the object, and the higher the merit in producing it. 
The stopping of a too strong shoot, therefore, as soon as 
it presents itself, will not only equalise the luxuriance by 
obtaining several shoots instead of one, but you obtain 
a closer headed plant, and a denser mass of bloom, 
provided you do not stop these strong shoots so late as 
to prevent the side shoots thrown out being well ripened. 
Thus, in the case of Azaleas and Camellias, any pruning 
required should be given immediately after flowering, 
and any stopping of shoots as soon as these are from 
one to two inches in length. 
Now, in the case of having only one house, and with 
little of the make-shift conveniences alluded to, united 
with the prevalent desire to see the house gay at all 
times, many of the winter and spring flowering tilings 
must be removed, as soon as their beauty is over, to give 
space for Calceolarias, Geraniums, Fuchsias, and later 
Cinerarias. But though some of these plants to be 
removed would stand in a sheltered corner in the garden, 
such as Genista and Cytisus, and those Acacia which 
are fitted for greenhouse culture, (the most of which, 
however, with the exception of such as are indicated in 
the Cottage Gardener s Dictionary , including the Golden- 
flowered Arrnosa, being better fitted for conservatory, 
and conservative wall culture, than for greenhouses), 
still even they would do much better, if kept for a 
time under glass, pruned when done flowering, and 
encouraged before turning out; while such treatment 
is indispensable in all cases where early luxuriant 
flowering can only take placo after healthy growth, as 
in the case of Azaleas and Camellias, Daphnes and the 
splendid family of Epacris, &c. If a Cytisus, or an 
Acacia should be placed in a shady, sheltered corner, 
protected alike from a scorching and withering east 
wind, and gradually, but ultimately , fully exposed, there 
will be a sufficient time for them to make their growth, 
and to perfect that growth, before housing them in the 
end of autumn. In many of our cottage ornees there 
are nice open verandas, with the fruit supported by 
pilasters, graced with creepers. I have no desire of 
seeing verandas, as they often are, lumbered up with a 
miscellaneous, higgledy-piggledy collection of plants in 
pots of all sizes and dimensions; but failing a better 
place, the back of such verandas constitutes a good 
intermediate position for plants that are to be brought 
from the house into the open air. Everything like a 
sudden change ought to be avoided; no galloping at once 
from heat to cold, from shade to unobstructed sunshine. 
Hence, when such plants are placed in the shade at first, 
as at the back of the veranda, they must be gradually 
brought forward, until they are able to bear the light 
with impunity. Winter-flowering heaths, Epacris, 
Camellias, and Azaleas, may be treated in the same | 
manner; but the flowers must not be expected so early! 
and even then they will not be nearly so fine, as if the 
plants, after being pruned, had been kept rather close 
and warm until free growth was advancing; and air 
then admitted gradually, until by the end of summer 
the lights were totally withdrawn, and the autumn sun 
allowed to perfect the flower buds, putting the sashes on 
again as the nights got cold, and as a protection from 
heavy rains. After this period of growth, such plants 
might stand in the front of such a veranda, as they 
would have the full benefit of light, and escape the 
injury of being soddened with wet. Mind we recom¬ 
mend such a place as a matter of economy and 
emergency, not as a matter of taste; for if plants arc to 
be kept in such places at all, even in the way of 
ornament, we would, if we had our way, have them 
grouped in vases and baskets. True, many turn all such 
plants, at this season of the year, to the back of a north 
wall at once, and unless, in extreme cases, they are 
allowed to remain there until they are taken in in the 
autumn — a rusted weather-beaten sample, with an 
appearance of growth, speaking as much of downward 
as upward progression. True, again, such plants will 
bloom ; for we have had such plants in flower in spring, 
that had merely the protection of the branches of a 
deciduous tree in a moderate winter. But the flowers of 
the Azaleas will be small, and accompanied merely by 
the semblance of foliage, the plant being more like a 
deciduous than an evergreen shrub; though, under the 
best treatment, it is apt to lose some foliage in winter; 
and the flowers of the Epacris will stand solitarily on 
the points of stunted half-inch shoots, instead of those 
brilliant racemes of bloom that fit them so well for the 
centre of nosegays and decorative wreaths of flowers. 
In all cases, therefore, where superior appearance, as 
respects luxuriance and abundant flowering next season, 
are concerned, our greenhouse plants must not be 
unceremoniously turned out in the open air in May and 
June; but treated in such a manner as not to give them 
a sudden check, but to secure, first a period of growth, 
and then of ripening the wood, before finally housing 
them again in the autumn. R. Fish. 
HOTHOUSE DEPARTMENT. 
EXOTIC ORCHIDACEAb 
EXOTIC OKCHIDS THAT THRIVE WELL IN POTS. 
(Continued from page 74.) 
Miltonia Candida (White-lipped M.); Brazil.—Sepals 
and petals yellow, spotted and lined with chocolate 
colour; lip pure white, curled at the edges. In the 
centre it has a beautiful patch of violet. This is truly 
a splendid plant. 31s. (id. 
M. Candida var grandielora (Large-flowered variety). 
—Sepals and petals rich dark brown, with a large blotch 
of yellow at tire ends; lip a brilliant white. This is a 
beautiful variety of a fine species; the flowers are much 
larger. Very fine, but scarce. 63s. 
M. Clowesii (Mr. Clowes’s M.) ; Brazil.—-Sepals and 
petals pale yellow, with broad blotches of chocolate 
colour; lip light purple, with a blotch of white at the 
end. There is a variety with all the colours much darker. 
Mr. Wanklyn, of Campsall House, near Manchester, 
first imported this species of Miltonia; amongst them 
was a variety with a lip of rich purple. We remember 
seeing it in bloom, but we fear it is lost to the country. 
The species is a fine plant of easy culture, and a free 
bloomer. 3ls. 6d. 
M. cuneata (Wedge-lipped M.) ; South America.— 
The upper part of sepals and petals pale yellow, the 
lower part brownish purple; lip white, with a shade ol 
rose colour at the base. One of the finest of the genus; 
a strong-grower and frcc-bloomer. 42s. 
