180 
TIIE COTTAGE GARDENER. 
; 
JCTNE 9. 
supposition that fowls run as flowers do. But let the 
fowl breeder take a lesson from the gardener, and per¬ 
severe with the strain, using the best of his crosses with 
each other, and also with the true China breed, until he 
is satisfied with something of a stamped character. The 
best crosses of these white flowers are to be again and 
again crossed with Vittatum major , and among them¬ 
selves, and then flowers of size, substance, and of better 
shapes, will appear at every future cross, hut always 
with a greater proportion of worthless seedlings than 
in the breeding among the aulicurn, reticulatum, and 
bulbulosum strains. Some of the best varieties of the 
Solandri/lorum are natives of Cayenne and Guiana, 
growing in the low level plains in a rich kind of strong 
blue clay, which gives a vigour and luxuriance not 
to be surpassed in the world. This is the reason why 
they delight in such unmixed soil in cultivation, and 
strong bulbs of them may have a dose of rich liquid- 
manure onco a week, from March to September, if they 
are in active growth. D. Beaton. 
ERIOSTEMON. 
Tins beautiful family of New Holland shrubs is very 
desirable on account of the abundance of bloom they 
produce in the spring and early summer months. 
Though a large, well-grown specimen looks most splen¬ 
did, yet one advantage of these plants is, that they 
bloom very freely in a small state, such as when two or 
three years old from the cutting. The plants being well 
known, I may merely add that they are nearly allied to 
the Boronia division of Rueworts, and that those who 
grow Boronias well will find little difliculty with Erios- 
temons. I shall shortly glance at several practical 
points in their treatment. 
Species, or Varieties. —All arc desirable where there is 
room, and between some of them there is but little 
difference. Buxifoliurn and scabrurn are the most dwarf 
and most compact in their mode of growth. Inter¬ 
medium , as the name implies, is stronger-growing; and 
salicifolhm and cuspidatum are more robust, and want 
more room. Myoporoides is weak-growing, and whitish 
in colour. The general treatment of these and others 
is similar, only that the smaller kinds may have rather 
more peat than is hereafter directed, and the stronger¬ 
growing a little more loam. 
Propagation. — Select the points of shoots getting 
firm, or any side-shoot, three inches in length, from 
I April to the beginning of June; insert them in silver 
l sand, over a littlo sandy peat, in a pot three parts filled 
I with drainage; water, and, when dry, place a bell-glass 
| over them, and insert the pot in a little bottom heat, say 
70°, while the atmosphere ranges from 50° to 00°; and 
shade from bright sun. Pot off early, if struck, but if 
not, keep them in the cutting pots the first winter, and 
pot into small pots early in spring, giving them from 
f)° to 10° more heat than the greenhouse. Pot again 
by May, and harden off' towards autumn, by air and 
exposure to full light, to enable the plant to stand more 
cold in winter. 
Choosing Plants in a Nursery. —Let these be bushy, 
compact plants, and possessing one leading shoot, as 
these plants look far best when trained in the cone 
fashion, with one stake in the centre. A plant one foot 
in height, possessing these qualities, and not stunted 
in the pot, is worth, ten times over, a thin, stunted 
plant, that has been waiting some time for a market, 
although four times the size. 
Potting. —When in a young state, this may be done 
twice or thrice from spring to autumn ; when larger, once, 
shortly after they have done flowering. When arrived at 
their full size, surface dressings will suffice for several 
years. In all cases of potting it is necessary to do it so 
early that the roots will be getting to the sides of tho ! 
pot by the middle of September. H will seldom be 
advisable, therefore, to pot after July, unless when 
transferring from the cutting repository. Always, after \ 
potting, keep the plants closer, warmer, and in a moro 
moist atmosphere, by syringing the leaves, &c., until 
growth is again fully proceeding. If a large shift should 
be given in April, or May, be careful, in watering, that 
the new soil is not saturated before the roots begin to | 
work freely in it. What I would call a small shift is 1 
from three-eighths to half-an-inch all round between the 
ball and the side of the pot. A large shift might range 
from one to two inches, but beginners had better try 
the first. Need I mention that before performing this 
operation the soil in the pot should have been well 
soaked, and allowed time to drain thoroughly. Almost 
as easily perform the operation of wetting the inside of 
a cabbage leaf, by pouring water on its outer surface, as 
get the soil of a plant moist that has been potted dry. 
The same principle holds in planting from pots out-of- 
doors in summer. Let the pot be well drained, with a 
little moss, and then a little of the roughest of the 
compost above the drainage. Pack the soil then, 
neither wet nor dry, firmly round the ball, and leave 
sufficient room for water. 
Soil. —Good heath soil should form the chief part; 
tire more full of decomposed fibre the better. It should 
be broken by the hand, and some of the very finer 
excluded. For large plants and shifts a few pieces may 
be as large as walnuts, but the great proportion much 
smaller, and mixed with the finer substance. For 
small plants the pieces should be smaller, about as 
large as marrowfat peas. If this heath or peat soil is 
pretty good, then four parts so prepared, one part of 
pounded bricks and charcoal, with the dust excluded, 
and one part of fibry loam, with a little silver sand 
incorporated with all, will grow the tribe admirably. 
Pruning and Training. —The last has already been 
alluded to. In forming the plant, considerable atten¬ 
tion must be given to the former. Shoots must bo 
stopped, in order to get moro to furnish a dense bush. 
The leader, if inclined to go on too fast, may also be 
stopped; but as soon as several shoots break, one must 
be again selected for that purpose. In forming the 
plant at first, and then pruning it after blooming, tho 
supply of a sufficiency of young stubby shoots all 
over the plants must be the principal aim, so as to 
secure a uniform mass of bloom. 
Position, Temperature, and General Management .— 
The treatment recommended for the Epacris tribe will, 
in many cases, apply, so that the plant may either be 
managed wholly in the greenhouse, or partly out of it. 
Supposing that you obtained now a nice young plant to 
grow on, or that you had one just finished blooming, 
and received what little stopping and pruning it re¬ 
quired, the proper treatment would, in either case, be 
identical. Sprinkle the plant over the foliage morning 
and evening; keep it in a close atmosphere, and in a 
temperature of from 50° to 00° at night, and 10° more, 
at least, during the day. During this period, when 
breaking its buds, shade a little from bright sunshine, 
but soon confine that merely to the middle of the day. j 
At this season, nothing is better than a cold pit, as, in ; 
general, the regulating of air will enable you to have 
the requisite conditions of temperature and moisture at 
will. As soon as growth is proceeding freely, admit 
more air and full sunlight to harden it. Its maturation, 
aud free-flowering afterwards, are its cause and effect. 
To accomplish this, attend duly to water at the roots, 
but discontinue syringing early in autumn, in fine, 
bright days, as soon as the plants will stand it by 
degrees, let them be fully exposed to tho sun ; but in 
wet weather, while enjoying plenty of air, let them be 
protected by the glass. Early in October, remove them 
