TIJE COTTAGE GARDENER. 
April 10. 
pagate in private gardens. In fact, I never knew a 
gentleman’s gardener that could strike it from cuttings, 
and it is by no means plentiful, even in the great London 
Nurseries. With all their means, and skill in the art of 
propagation, I have found, generally, that a plant that 
is easily propagated, and is tolerably beautiful, soon 
i finds its way into most gardens. Nurserymen certainly 
! dispose of a great number of plants, but if every plant | 
i that is introduced into every garden in the United i 
j Kingdom had been purchased at a Nursery, the stock ! 
required to supply so many gardens would be tenfold j 
' to what it is. These remarks tend to elucidate my idea 
why Poivrea coccinea is yet a (comparatively speaking) 
rare plant. As it is such a worthy plant, I will 
fully detail its culture, including the most certain 
method of propagating it, so as to spread its cultivation 
1 to every stove in Britain. At the same time I may 
I remark, that though not so easy to propagate as a Dip- 
i ladenia or an Allamanda, good plants may be purchased 
for four or five shillings, or smaller ones for three-and- 
1 sixpence. 
History. —It was introduced into this country from 
i Madagascar, about thirty-five years since, and belongs 
I to the Natural Order Combretaceae. Linnaean class, 
j Decandria (plants having ten stamens). Order Mono- 
j gynia (one style). 
Description. —A rambling-growing, partially-twining, 
woody shrub. Leaves four to five inches long, oval- 
shaped, dark green on the upper surface, and purplish 
underneath. Flowers produced in large, spreading, 
flattish spikes, individually small, with conspicuous 
I stamens, all of the most vivid rich scarlet, having much 
the appearance of scarlet feathers. The flowers appear 
' in August and September. 
[ Culture. —To grow this splendid plant to perfection a 
warm stove is necessary. The heat, in winter, need not 
exceed G0° ; with sun, in summer, it should be raised 
from 65° to 80°. The situation to grow it in is a small 
pit about half-a-yard or two feet square, and three feet 
deep. If this be at the corner of a bark-bed, the plant 
will thrive all the better for the bottom-heat. If the 
stove be what is called a stove conservatory, it can, of 
coui’se, be planted out in the earth-bed with the other 
i stove plants. 
! Soil. —The roots of this plant are very fibry, white, 
j and somewhat succulent ; hence, it requires a moderately 
rich, light, open soil. 1 have used sandy loam, heath 
mould, and vegetable earth in equal parts, mixed liber¬ 
ally with sand, small stones, and charcoal. This compost 
admits air and water to the roots freely, and allows the 
latter, when in superfluity, to escape away through the 
drainage. This last-named article must, in or under 
any circumstances, be abundant and perfect. In form¬ 
ing a pit to receive the plant, I always was more careful 
about drainage than any other point. I formed the pit 
first, and then threw into the bottom a layer of brick- 
ends, and upon them a second layer of small stones and 
broken pots, then upon that I laid four or five inches 
ol small twigs, and, lastly, a thin layer of pieces of 
green turf; this I consider as complete a drainage as it 
is possible to make. Water can then be applied freely, 
without any fear of the soil becoming sour or sodden, 
i When the pit or border is duly prepared, and a good 
| plant procured, plant it out immediately. The best 
i time is about May or June. It will then have the 
summer before it to make growth, and become well- 
established before the winter, with its short days and 
long nights, sets in. 
Training. —As this charming plant does not flower 
till it reaches the roof of the house, and has travelled 
some distance in that higher region of heat and light, 
the plant should be trained up with a single stem. Any 
| side-shoots should be shortened in, and when branches 
are tormed on the roof, clothed with leaves, these side- 
shoots should be all pruned close to the main stem, and 
in the autumn the side-shoots on the branches on the 
roof must be shortened in also. It is from the spring- 
made shoots that the flowers are produced The second 
year after planting a few sprays of flowers will make 
their appearance, and every year afterwards the quan¬ 
tity will be increased. 
Watering .—Due supplies of this necessary element 
must be given, and after the second year, occasional 
supplies of manure-water must be given, to give renewed 
fertility to the soil. The syringe, also, must be used 
frequently, to keep down the red spider. The mealy 
bug is very partial to this plant, and if it makes its 
appearance must be constantly destroyed. In con¬ 
clusion, I have only to state that this plant will not 
thrive well in a pot, however large. It will live, it is 
true, and produce a few flowers; but nothing like what 
it will do if managed as I have described. 
Propagation .—There are some species of Combretum 
or Poivrea that strike readily from cuttings ; such 
species make excellent stocks on which to graft this 
shy-striking plant. Strike as many of these as may be 
wanted, and as soon as they are strong enough, then cut 
them down, and graft half-ripened scions upon them, 
close to the earth in the pots. Place them when 
grafted under a hand-glass upon a heated surface, 
shading from the sun closely at first, and more thinly 
afterwards. In six weeks they will be united, and 
should then have a little air, gradually increasing it till 
the plants will bear the full light and air. The hand- 
light may then be removed, and the plants treated in 
the usual way. 
This plant has certainly been struck by cuttings, 
but very rarely. Some of our readers may wish 
to try; and if so, the way to proceed is to prepare a 
cutting pot filled with the compost, and an inch of sand 
on the top, with a bell-glass to fit, just after the plant 
begins to grow. Take off some short, stubby shoots with 
half-ripened wood, insert them in the cutting-pot, give 
a little water, place on the bell-glass, and plunge the 
pot in a heated bed, either of leaves or tan; perhaps one 
in six will grow, and that success ought to satisfy the 
propagator. 
Another mode is root-grafting; but then roots of 
the species are more diffcult to procure than cuttings 
or stocks; still, whoever has a large plant of any of 
the Combretaceae, might take off a few roots and try to 
graft them. He might succeed, and most probably, 
with due care, would do so. T. Appleby. 
WOODS AND FORESTS. 
THE LARCH. 
(Continued from Vol . XIII., page 415). 
I have, in former papers, described the proper soil 
and situation for this valuable timber-tree; also, how it 
should be planted ; and the method of raising it from 
seed; and the nursery treatment. There remains yet 
the after-management, namely, Pruning and Thinning, 
together with a short notice of the diseases to which it 
is subject. These I will try to describe, and direct how 
to perform in this paper. 
Pruning .—All coniferous trees, in a certain degree, 
yield turpentine, and the time when that flows most 
freely is in spring. Now, if any of those trees are cut, 
or wounded, at that season, the peculiar sap flows freely, 
| and the lasting qualities of the timber are injured 
; thereby. It follows, then, that the best season for 
1 pruning the Larch is in the autumn, because then the 
wounds have time if not to heal up, yet to have the 
surface so cut hardened over, the pores closed to a great 
