September 12.] 
THE COTTAGE GARDENER. 
empty space enclosed by glass, and your other plants 
elsewhere will seem less beautiful than they really are. 
There is no occasion for cramming such a house in 
summer; the plants may either he set thinly and mixed, 
or, what will look better, arranged into separate groups, 
according to kind, or colour, and spaces left between. 
Not to weary you, wc shall solicit your company a 
few steps farther, just to visit our kind, hustling friend 
D. His glass is not extensive, hut it is amazing what 
j he gets out of it in a roughish way. By means of 
screens, divisions, &c., he obtains grapes, cucumbers, 
French beans, strawberries, and good flowering plants 
■ into the bargain. It is pleasant to look upon any man’s 
; countenance when, he is pleased, but there is something 
of the super-delightful in witnessing D. arresting your 
! attention before something that he knows to be good— 
crossing his arms over his breast, gaining rather than 
losing in height, and exclaiming “ There note!" No one 
can give a sly poke with bettor grace, and, what is 
rarer still, none can be quizzed and joked in turn with 
better humour. Nevertheless, our friend D. has some 
failings in his gardening, just to keep him from perfec¬ 
tion. The first, noticed in the early part of the season, 
is his contempt of weeds ; with him, a fresh surfaced 
plant, or a fresh potted one, are the same every day for 
months after. As to little weeds they are never seen, 
it is only when they become large enough to threaten 
to rival the chief plant that extermination is thought 
about; pulling them out as soon as seen, grubbing 
them up and placing them in his pocket or apron with 
his left hand, whilo he wields the watering pot in his 
right, is a matter not to be thought of in his philosophy! 
Approach the houso in spring and you might almost go 
blindfolded; but now, in the second place, it is very 
different: the smooth rolled walk then is now so crammed 
with pots that have been turned out of the houso, some 
fresh, some withered, and some so full of weeds as to 
defy all notion as to what they were intended to con¬ 
tain, and force you to pick your way at every step. And 
why? because D. has cither such a love for pots that 
once stood in his house that be cannot put them out 
of sight, or cannot make up bis mind what to do with 
them ; and there they remain, turning a beautiful path 
iuto an eyesore, and exhibiting such a mass of con¬ 
fusion without as detracts from the merits of what is 
within. Hint that old French bean plants are scattering 
thrip, and green fly, and spider in the neighbourhood, 
or that strawberry pots have their plants dead or dying. 
“Ah! yes; but then I thought about planting out in 
the open garden, and could not quite make up my mind 
whether to do so or not.” All who are similarly circum¬ 
stanced whose determination is not prompt and clear— 
who cannot decide at once whether plants that are used 
for certain purposes shall be retained, or sent to the 
rubbish heap—ought to have a piece of ground set 
apart, and not much in view, where all such things 
should bo kept. As a greenhouse is built for plants, so 
a walk is made for walking on. Untidy, and untasteful, 
and unfitful as they always look when applied to other 
purposes, these arc concentrated into downright ugliness 
when the walk that leads to a greenhouse is flanked and 
| blocked up with discarded flower-pots, conveying the 
' idea that the possessor could manage to get them out¬ 
side the door, but was incajiable of moving them 
j farther. R. Fish. 
HOTHOUSE DEPARTMENT. 
STOVE PLANTS. 
Bromf.i.iACK yF. (continued) : Gusmannia tricolor 
(Three-coloured G.); South America.—Green, red, and 
white flowers. Very handsome when in flower ; grows 
about a foot high. The leaves are light green, the longest 
309 
measure nine inches long, and about two inches wide. 
The flowers, at first, spring up in the centre of the leaves 
in the form of a spatlie of bracts or floral leaves. These 
open when about a foot high, and the real flowers 
appear out of the bosom, as it wore, of each bract. 
Though handsome, they have the drawback of being of 
short duration, but each spike produces a large number 
of flowers in succession, thus prolonging the bloom for j 
a considerable period. This plant is the only one of the : 
genus, and may be propagated and managed in the same j 
way as Achniea fulyens, described at page 331. 
Puya Altensteinii; South America.—-Rich scarlet 
flowers. This is a noble species, continuing a long 
time in bloom. The flower spike frequently rises to the 
height of three feet, the leaves average two feet long, 
and are arranged in the shape of a fan; the llowcr-spike 
springs up in the centre, and consists of highly coloured 
bracts or floral leaves; the real flowers rise about two 
inches above each bract, and appear in succession. 
They are pure white, excepting the anthers, which are a 
pale yellow. The contrast between the rich crimson, or 
deep scarlet bracts, and the white flowers is very 
pleasing, and renders this plant very effective as an 
ornament to the stove. 
Puya wululafolia (Wave-leaved P.); South America.— 
This also is a very handsome and very desirable plant. 
The flower-stems are two and a half feet high. The 
whole flower is of the richest crimson. The leaves are 
about one and a half foot long, and six inches broad 
at the widest part, gradually tapering oil' to a point. The 
edges are wavy, whence its specific name. 
Culture —Both these Puyas are easily cultivated, re- j 
quiriug a very moderate stove heat. The soil should 
consist of rather strong loam and very rotten dung, in 
the proportion of two of loam and one of dung. As they I 
are of strong free growing habits, they require liberal 
pot room; a strong full grown plant (when in flower) i 
ought to be in a pot eleven inches in diameter. Good i 
drainage is essential to success with these as with all the 
family. For large plants, two to three inches of broken 
potsherds or other equally effectual draining material 
will not bo too much. Water. —As these plants have a j 
large surface of foliage, and consequently evaporate a | 
large quantity of moisture from the pores, especially in 
a young state, they require to bo liberally treated with 
water through the growing months. In winter the 
quantity ought to be lessened considerably, but not en 
tirely withheld. The grand rule in all watering operations 
is to supply the plants, of whatever kind they may be, 
with just enough to keep them fresh when in a compara¬ 
tive state of rest, and more abundantly when in a state 
of growth. The quantity to be given in the latter state 
depends entirely upon the habit of the plant. From 
the great number of plants now in cultivation of such 
various habits, with regard to the amount of foliage, and 
from the changeful nature of our climate, sometimes re¬ 
joicing in bright clear sunshine for a short period, and 
then changing to a dull gloomy wet and cloudy atmo¬ 
sphere, the treatment of plants, with respect to the giving 
of water, must of necessity be somewhat difficult, re¬ 
quiring from the operator a considerable amount of dis¬ 
crimination. Of all the operations and grand points in 
plant culture in pots, the properly watering them is the 
most important, and at the same time the most difficult 
to teach. Therefore we say to our readers, never water a ; 
plant until it requires it. We have been often asked j 
how many times a day a plant wants water ! It is for i 
the benefit of such inquirers that we have penned the 
above remarks on watering plants, and wo trust they 
will be useful. 
Propagation. —Both these species of plants sond out j 
suckers, which will put out roots for themselves in 
process of time. As soon as that has taken place to ' 
some extent they may be carefully divided from the 
