THE COTTAGE GARDENER AND COUNTRY GENTLEMAN, December 4, 1860. 
133 
and the plant be grown as an established one. When many 
plants are required, and you do not wish to injure the appear¬ 
ance of the old one, nip out the point of the shoot or terminal 
bud, and that will cause a number of fresh side shoots to appear ; 
and when firm and old enough these may be thinned out, and 
the thinnings treated as stated above. If a number of plants as 
early as possible, and not the appearance of the old plant, are the 
object, then I would let the plant get as dry as would not en¬ 
danger the leaves flagging much, then cut the plant down to 
within a couple of inches or so of the soil, cut up the whole 
stem into pieces from two to three inches in length, treat these 
as cuttings, place in a hotbed, but dry rather than moist, and 
plunge the old pot also in a mild bottom heat to encourage it to 
throw out shoots, which afterwards may also be thinned and 
struck. After being fairly started, this plant and all the family 
will thrive well under rather rough treatment. 
CROTON PICTUM, VARIEGATUM, AND LON GIF OPIUM. 
“ I wish to cultivate and propagate these, so as to get them to 
grow freely and in abundance.” The general culture will be 
much the same as for Dracaena. The temperature will need to 
be equally high, and the compost will be better if supplied with 
more sandy peat and a few bits of charcoal. I fear the cutting- 
down process will not answer for them. However, there is no 
necessity ; as the plants very readily, with a little nipping out 
of the leading buds, may be made to take the bush form. 
The points of all these shoots, if cut back three or four inches 
from the point, will also be hard enough for cuttings. Small 
side shoots three or four inches long and somewhat hard at their 
base will form, however, the best cuttings. The lesser the leaves 
on such shoots, in proportion to their size, the better will they 
strike. The plant should be allowed to be rather dry before the 
cuttings are removed, dress the base of the cuttings with a very 
sharp knife, and shorten or remove the lower leaves. Take care 
that none of the acrid juice drops on your hands when doing 
this work. Allow the ends of the cuttings to be exposed in a 
dry, warm place, wdiilst the tops are kept moist and shaded for 
-a few hours before inserting them in pure sand over sandy peat 
in a well-drained pot. The pots may then be set in a hotbed 
•and covered with a bell-glass, kept shut down several horns in 
the middle of the day, but with air on night and morning. As 
soon as struck place singly in small pots, and keep growing 
vigorously in a moist atmosphere and a temperature ranging 
from 70° to 80°, and on to 90° at mid-day. When fully estab¬ 
lished in six or eight-inch pots, the temperature may range from 
55° to 65° at night, and 10° to 15° more from sunshine. This 
refers, however, chiefly to the dark months. In the heat of 
summer they are not likely to quarrel with temperature. 
CHOROZEMA UAWRENCIANA. 
“How shall I treat this to have it in bloom next August?” 
The blooms sent as to colour were too far gone to enable us to 
be certain of the species, but being in bloom now there will be 
little difficulty in having it in bloom by the end of August. 
Most of this family of plants prefer blooming profusely in spring ; 
but by altering the treatment much might be done to have them 
in flower when most desirable. Those that bloom in the autumn 
might thus, with a little coaxing, have heat and light to grow 
the wood; and heat and light to perfect the wood when grown 
and then free flowering would come as a matter of course, 
without the interruption of our cold, cheerless winters as a long 
rest, as most of the species now have. Allow, therefore, your 
plant to produce flowers as long as it seems disposed to do—say 
until Christmas, then prune it considerably back, but never 
going beyond the base of the present year’s shoots. Place the 
plant in the warmest end of your greenhouse, and give little 
water or air until you see the fresh shoots breaking. Even then do 
not give too much water. When the shoots are an inch or two 
long repot the plant, ; f necessary, into the same sized pot after 
removing a little of the washed soil, or into one a size larger. 
Drain the pot well, and use as compost three parts fibry heath 
soil, one of fibry loam, and half a part of a mixture of silver sand 
and nodules of charcoal about the size of Peas and horse Beans. 
When potted, water with pure soft water heated at least to 60°, 
and place the pot again in the warmest end of the greenhouse— 
in fact, a temperature of from 50° to 55° will suit it best as it 
grows. Give water as needed, but no great amount of air will 
be required, the chief thing at first being to get a lot of nice 
stiff shoots from six to twelve or more inches in length. About 
June begin to give more air, and by the end of the month expose 
the plant still more to all the sun it can get—and air, too, so as 
to ripen the wood. A cold pit with glass on and air top and 
bottom would just be the place. In such circumstances I would 
expect the blooms to come in the beginning of August. 
CROWEA SALIGNA. 
“ I have a nice plant of this with bloom still on, I wish to 
have it good next September.” The general culture of this lovely 
plant has been several times given. We have seen it fine in May 
and June, the growth having been made in summer, ripened 
pretty well in autumn, rested in winter, and excited into bloom 
by the advancing heat of summer. For the purpose indicated 
we would treat it as stated above for the Chorozema, but a fort¬ 
night or so after being pruned back and placed in the warmest 
end of the greenhouse we would remove it to the coolest end of 
your plant-stove, or to a house such as a vinery or Peach-house 
at work, giving air to prevent the shoots coming weak. When 
they were from twelve and more inches in length, we would 
remove the plant to a warm, close corner in the greenhouse for a 
week or two, and then to a sunny airy part. It might be either 
kept there or in a cold pit, where the leaves would get plenty of 
sun and air. By the beginning of August water should be 
gradually curtailed, so that the sun should have more power, 
and the fine warm days of September may be expected to open 
the bloom. In most cases the plants that enjoy the long com¬ 
parative rest of winter will generally bloom best. This plant 
should rarely be below 45° in winter, and the drainage must be 
very particular, as the least sour, sodden soil is ruinous. 
R. Fish. 
GREEN STAINS ON STONE-WORK. 
In No. 632, page 81, of The Cottage Gardener, I see an 
answer to “Eight-years Subscriber” respecting green on 
stone stage of conservatory ; and as I have been long troubled 
with this cryptogamic growth on my stage, I beg to state what I 
have as yet found to be the best preventive. I have tried various 
things, but I find nothing to equal chloride of lime applied in 
the following manner—viz., after clearing the stage of all the 
plants sprinkle it with water, then dust well with chloride of 
lime; afterwards brush the stage well over till a good lather 
appears, leave it a few hours, and then wash it; dust and brush 
it again, leaving for about an hour, when all may be washed with 
a soft cloth not over wet; some parts of the stage may still 
appear green a little, but in a short time it will disappear. An 
application of this kind whenever the plants want rearranging 
will be found an entire preventive, and will make a stage look 
well. “Eight- years Subscriber,” giving it a fair trial, will 
find it satisfactory.—J. B. L. 
WHY FERNS ARE GROWN UNDER GLASS— 
THE LILY OF THE YALLEY TREE. 
Will you have the kindness to tell me what advantage is 
gained by putting glass over Ferns ? I have some growing 
without any in a sitting-room, and give them no more attention 
than I would to any ordinary plant. They are doing very well, 
and the only fault I can find is that they are growing too fast. 
The appearance they present at present is very pleasing. I 
should wish them to retain it as long as possible, and, therefore, 
apply to you in hopes that you will kindly tell me bow I could 
retard their growth consistent with their health. My only 
objection to a shade is, that it will make them look artificial; 
but I am not sure that it would prevent their luxuriance, so 
I did not get it until I hear your opinion. 
Would you also be good enough to say what sort of compost 
is most suitable for the Lily of the Yalley tree, which is, I think, 
some kind of Citrus, but am not sure ? I have it at present in 
yellow loam, sand, and peat, but the leaves are beginning to turn 
yellow and drop off.—A. E. B. 
[Ferns placed in a sitting-room are protected from the dry 
atmosphere of the air, and are also sheltered from dust when 
covered with glass. The glass prevents the escape of the moisture 
from the soil, and retains it in the air enclosed by the case. Dust 
is always injurious to leaves, by stopping up the pores of the 
leaves, which are the lungs of the plant. You might keep your 
Ferns from growing so rampant by never repotting them, but 
then you may expect the older fronds to decay sooner, and the 
