THE COTTAGE GARDENER. 
356 
of the standard of a reddish colour. The plant blooms 
freely, when from two to four feet in height; being at the 
latter height considered a full-grown specimen, that must 
be looked upon as having fulfilled its duty, and, ere 
long, to bo superseded by a younger rival. They gene¬ 
rally bloom from March to July, but can easily be made 
to yield their blossoms from December until that period. 
I am not aware that there are more than two other 
species of the genus, differing little except in the foliage 
of Pubescens, and the dwarfer habit of Polyspcrma, 
occasioned partly by the freeness with which it produces 
its seeds. As we must now be thinking of early spring 
decoration, those little plants will be worth looking 
after. All things considered, where one is to be chosen, 
I would prefer the Lotifolia. The management of all 
is similar. 
Propagation by Seeds. —If these ripen early, they may 
be sown in summer in a slight hotbed. If not over¬ 
ripe, they will vegetate all the quicker, and will require 
no previous soaking in warm water. Many sheds that 
take a considerable time to vegetate when thoroughly 
dried, will germinate quickly and strongly when in a 
comparatively green state. The old gardener who 
carried his fresh cucumber and melon seeds in his 
waistcoat pocket for months, was no dotard, though 
very likely he would chuckle at the glib philosophy of 
our enlightened age. It is easier to excel in giving 
plausible reasons than to excel in practical results. 
Every day that the seed was being kept near the heat of 
the body, it would become more indurated; germination, 
therefore, would be more languid, and growth less 
vigorous, owing to the slowness with which those che¬ 
mical changes were effected in the seed, which are 
necessary to the support of the embryo plant. A stubby 
growth was desired, and so far was obtained. Young 
shoots, on the other hand, germinate the quickest, and 
produce the strongest plants, just because such changes 
as that of starch into sugar, &c., &c., are so quickly 
made. When, after keeping hard seeds over the winter, 
we steep them for a day or two in Warm water, it is for 
the purpose of bringing them back to a similar condition 
to that they previously occupied before being removed 
from their shell or pod. Seeds, however, not over-ripe, 
and those ripe and dried, but well soaked before sowing, 
should be placed in soil, in a medium state between wet 
and dryness, and should receive little water until the 
young plants appear. 
By Cuttings .—The points of shoots half-ripened, or 
side-shoots taken off close to the stem, when three inches 
in length, are the most suitable. Insert them in silver 
sand, over sandy soil, and in pots well-drained. If taken 
off in April, a bell-glass placed over them, and set in a 
warm part of the greenhouse, or better, in a close pit, 
where the temperature from artificial means does not 
exceed from 55° to 00°, and shaded from bright sun¬ 
shine, they will be fit to be pricked off, three or four in 
a pot, by the end of summer, and have the autumn to 
establish themselves: stopping them all, however, as 
soon as fresh growth commences. By shifting them 
early in spring, and growing them on during the sum¬ 
mer, they will make nico little flowering plants the 
second season. 
General Management. —During the first season, as 
growth is the principal thing, the plants will do best if 
kept in a pit during summer, and kept close after the 
one or two shiftings they receive, removing them into 
open air in August and part of September, to harden 
their wood properly. In future seasons they should be 
pruned back after they have done flowering, though not 
too severely; be encouraged to make fresh growth after¬ 
wards by keeping them closer, and in a moist atmo¬ 
sphere; receive what attention they require at the roots, 
when fresh growth has fairly commenced ; and be kept 
under cover after potting until growth is again proceed- 
[Sebtember 4. 
ing, when tlib plants may be exposed in a sheltered 
place out of doors, where they will not be subject to 
boisterous winds, nor yet to worms getting into the soil. 
Even less care than this will do, but the plants will 
thrive, all the better with it, and it will always be requi¬ 
site where early blooming is required. 
Watering. —Weak manure-water may be given with 
advantage, when growing, and when flowering; and 
syringing should be resorted to morning and evening 1 
in summer, and the middle of fine sunny days in 
winter. 
Soil. —Fibry loam and sandy peat is best; good loam ( 
and a little leaf-mould, and a tew nodules of charcoal i 
will grow them well. The more loam is Used, the stub¬ 
bier will' be their growth; for shifting strong plants it 
should constitute the principal item ; of course drainage 
is indispcnsible. 
Temperature. —If the wood is well-hardened in August 
and September, they will stand a low temperature for 
short periods uninjured. It will be unnecessary to give 
artificial heat for this plant alone, if the temperature j 
ranges in winter from 35° to 45°. A shady situation j 
will suit it best in the dog-days, and a full exposure in 
the end of August and beginning of September ;— 
when grown in pots, they should be placed under shelter 
in October, and be removed to their winter-quarters by 
the middle of that month. 
Insects. —The red spider is their chief enemy. The 
best remedy is flowers of sulphur in winter and spring, 
steamed from a lrot-water plate, and syringings with 
clean water and weak soap-suds alternately in summer. 
As successors to these, because blooming a month or 
two later, I may mention the 
Crotolaiuas, such as argentea, obscura, and Thebaica, 
all low growing shrubs, flowering when from eighteen 
inches to three feet in height, and producing large 
yellow flowers, of the pOa-blossomed character, and 
requiring similar treatment, in every respect, to the 
Goodia, only that the Crotolaria is even more subject 
to the red spider. 
Bossi/ea. —This is another beautiful commemorative 
genus, the species of which are chiefly from New Hol¬ 
land. All of them flower freely when from fifteen inches 
to three feet in height. The prevailing colour is yellow, 
though in some cases it is orange, and in others a 
mixture of brown, yellow, and purple. One of the last 
introductions, Hendersonii, is a bronzy yellow. The 
individual flowers are generally small, but from the 
habit of the plants, they show off to the best advantage. 
They generally bloom from April to August, sooner or 
later, according to circumstances. June may be con¬ 
sidered the hey-day of most of them. In The Gar¬ 
dener’s Dictionary will be found a list of the best 
sorts, and a full third of these I have not seen. The 
chief characteristic Of the genus, is the possession by 
most of the species of fiattish, compressed branches, 
something resembling in appearance the Acacia armata, 
to which we lately adverted, only that the colour of the j 
stem of the Acacia is a very light, while that of the 
Baronia is a dark green. Another peculiarity between 
the species is, that whilst such sorts as ensata and rufa 
are, properly speaking, destitute of foliage, such species j 
as foliosa and micropbylla possess leaves. Unless for 
particular purposes, the species mentioned are as good 
as any other; scolopcndrium grows to eight or twelve 1 
feet in height, and prostrata and cordifolia from six to 
twelve inches. 
Distinctive Features of Management. — Propagation: 
the same as for Goodia, only that in the case of the 
leafless species, after the cuttings have been inserted 
for two or three weeks, the pots might bo moved into 
a slight, sweet, bottom-heat. After-treatment the same. 
Soil: two parts peat to one of loam, with sufficiency 
of silver sand and nodules of charcoal to keep the soil 
350 
