293 
THE COTTAGE GARDENER AND COUNTRY 
in April or May is the easiest mode for windows and bal¬ 
conies. When done flowering keep the plants rather dry in 
any sheltered place where they will not he exposed to severe 
frost. If the pots are plunged in ashes, the surface covered 
with litter, and evergreen branches stuck among them, they 
will generally he safe enough. Use light, rich soil and plenty 
of water after they begin to grow. If you want some very 
dwarf flowering plants layer the points of shoots in small 
pots at the end of August or the beginning of September. 
Cinerama. —Sow in spring for early winter blooming; sow 
in summer for spring-blooming plants. Good sorts, when 
done flowering, should be planted out, and during summer 
and autumn should be divided, or their suckers, like young 
plants, potted separately in small pots, and repotted as 
necessary. Freedom from frost, plenty of air, and coolness 
are the essentials for healthy growth. The slightest appear¬ 
ance of green fly must be attacked at once. 
Clintonia elegans. —A pretty annual for a pot or for hang¬ 
ing over the side of a neat vase. Sow under a pane of glass 
in April, transplant, and in common soil it will do inside or 
outside of the window, but best in the latter. 
Collinsia bicolor. —In a cool room fine plants of this 
may be obtained in April and May by sowing in September, 
and keeping afterwards with a little protection until spring. 
Convolvulus major. —Fine for running up the outsides of 
windows, and flowering beautifully until cut down by frost. 
Sow in light, rich soil in May where it is intended to stand. 
Coronilla glauca, and especially variegata, are nice win¬ 
ter ornaments, yielding a profusion of yellow flowers, and 
liking rather a free loamy soil. It should be soinewdiat freely 
primed when done flowering, kept in the house until the 
second week of May, then placed in a protected situation out 
of doors, and well watered and syringed during summer, 
placing it indoors in October. 
Cotyledons. —A few of these may be introduced by those 
! -who love succulents. They delight in sandy loam and a 
I little old lime mortar; they will take a little water in 
summer, but will next to dispense with it in winter, the 
leaves absorbing as much as they perspire. Any place free 
from frost and with a fair portion of light will suit them in 
winter. 
Crassula ooccinea. — This is deservedly a favourite 
succulent, and the beginner may well be proud who blooms 
the same plant every year. This can only be done by 
having a succession of shoots, for what will bloom next 
year must have been grown and ripened this year. Like 
all other succulents it is easily propagated. Stick a shoot 
into loose, sandy, gravelly soil, and it is sure to root. Flere, 
then, is a nice little plant with two shoots, one of which 
shows bloom in June, and the other not. Cut down the 
flowerless one at once to within an inch or so of its base. 
It will soon show a number of shoots, and you must thin 
them to three or four. Meantime the plant will want water to 
expand the blooms, and that will also meet the wants of 
the young shoots. When done flowering that shoot may 
also be cut down, and thus your succession is complete. 
Continue watering, giving a full exposure to the sun for a short 
time afterwards, until the young shoots from the first main 
shoot cut down are some size; then gradually refrain from 
watering, but give every possible ray of sunshine in autumn. 
Continue the same course in winter, only next thing to 
locking up the water-can, and just keep the plants from 
getting often below 40°, and never below 32°. As the sun 
gains power the shoots will lengthen and begin to bloom, 
and you must just repeat the same course, cutting down 
the shoots that have flowered, and giving every encourage¬ 
ment in growing and ripening to the others. 
Cyclamens. —Who does not love them ? And yet how sel¬ 
dom are they to be seen ! Suppose you had a plant nicely in 
bloom this spring, water it as long as it is in bloom, and while 
the leaves are green. As soon as they begin to show a 
yellow tinge refrain from watering, first gradually, and then 
altogether. When quite withered remove all decayed foliage, 
and place the pots in a sheltered situation out of doors, 
turning them on their sides so as to exclude rain, and yet 
allowing them to absorb enough from the ground not to be 
dust dry. In winter take them indoors, and as soon as the 
corms begin to push examine the drainage, top dress or 
repot, and give a little water, increasing the quantity by 
I degrees: other things being equal, they do best in smallish 
I __ __ 
GENTLEMAN’S COMPANION, August 11,1857. 
pots. A four-inch pot will grow a lovely little plant. If 
you wish to raise seedlings look after the seed-pod, which 
bends down to the soil, and sow as soon as the seeds are ripe. 
Cytisus Attleana. —This little bush is the best of the 
group for a window, and may be a mass of yellow all the 
winter and spring, and not more than one foot in height. 
With the exception of a greater dredging from the syringe 
in summer treat it like the Coronilla. 
Dielytra spectabilis. —For border, window, forcing 
house, and greenhouse this is alike valuable. A six or 
seven-inch pot would grow a fine specimen for a window. 
When done flowering set it out of doors in a sheltered place. 
In a week or two remove it to one more sunny, give water 
as long as the leaves are green, then refrain, but just see 
that the soil is not greatly dried. In winter merely protect 
the pot from frost. As soon as fresh vegetation commences 
place it in the window, after examining the drainage and 
Iresli surfacing with rich material. As it grows and blooms 
increase the water as it wants it. Any rich sandy loam 
will suit it. 
Deutzia gracilis. —A neat, compact little shrub, with 
pretty white flowers. W r hen done flowering prune out the 
flowering shoots, so as to increase the growth of others ; 
fresh pot if necessary ; put it out of doors in an open place, 
defending the pot from the rays of the sun; give water as 
needed ; protect from frost in winter, though a few degrees 
will not harm it, and soon after you place the plant in the 
window in spring you will have a myriad of white flowers. 
Daphne Indica and odora. —I once saw a fine plant of 
this in a parlour, where it had been an acceptable visitant 
for years. It was kept in winter in a light room over a 
stable, the heat from which and the window shutters prevented 
injury by frost. When the flower-buds showed in the spring 
it w r as taken to the parlour. When finished blooming it was 
taken back to the room above the stable, syringed, and 
kept rather close there by giving little air to encourage 
growth. By July and August it got a protected site out of 
doors, where the sun shone on it chiefly in the mornings or j 
afternoons, and by October it was housed. Heath soil and 
loam suit them best. When resting in winter do not soak 
with water. 
Diosma ericoides. —The white flowers of this Heath¬ 
like plant are small, but many like the fine perfume of the 
foliage, and it will stand roughish treatment in a window. 
Prune a little when done blooming, to keep the plant in size 
and shape; keep in the window a few weeks afterwards; 
then place out of doors in July or so ; give it a shady place 
at first, and then one more open; defend the pot from the 
sun, and house in October. Heath soil and sandy loam 
suit it. 
Eciieverias, such as rosea , gibbijlora , and coccinea , are in¬ 
teresting among other succulents. Treat as for Cotyledon 
or Crassula. They are easily managed if not over watered, 
and may be dry in summer even, yet suffer little injury. 
Epiphyllum truncatum is, perhaps, the best of this ! 
group of Cacti, and requires rather more heat when growing 
than a window generally gives. I have seen it do, however, 
very well in the windows of amateurs. One thing in its 
favour is its early blooming, from the new year and onwards 
in the spring. When done flowering it can, therefore, have 
the sunniest spot in the -window to encourage growth, and 
by the middle of July it should be set in the sunniest spot 
out of doors, and no more water given than will prevent the 
succulent shoots shrivelling. In winter, also, keep it dry 
until it shows flower-buds, then sponge the stems, and water 
at the roots moderately with water from 60° to 70°. Similar 
soil to the other succulents mentioned will suit it. It looks 
best grafted from one to two feet high on a strong shoot of 
Cereus spedosissimas. Cut off the top of the stock, make a 
split in it, in that insert a shoot of truncatum , with the bark 
removed a little from each side of one end in the shape of 
a wedge, stick a small wooden pin through to keep them in 
their place, bind loosely with matting, tie a little damp moss 
round, shade with a leaf or a piece of paper, and in a feiv 
days the union is completely effected. 
Erythrina crista-galli. —This wall only do for a large 
window. When done flowering set the plant in a sheltered 
place out of doors; in a w r eek or so put it full in the sun, 
and give water until the leaves get a yellow tinge in autumn ; 
then let the plant get dryish ; cut down to the base of the 
