326 THE COTTAGE GARDENER AND COUNTRY 
Kalosanthes. —See Crassula. 
' Lachenalia.— Many kinds, as tricolor , are pretty early- 
blooming bulbs. They are rather more tender, but other- 
^dse require similar treatment to Ixias. If the bulbs are 
kept moist or watered when in a state of rest they will 
bloom very poorly. „ 
Lantana mutabilis and Crocea superba are best tor 
windows. They bloom freely when in a young state from 
one foot high and upwards: small side-shoots will strike 
freely under a glass in May. Towards autumn give little 
water, and harden the shoots in the sun. The plants in 
winter may then be kept like Fuchsias, only they must not 
be too damp, nor often nor long below 4IX ^ They will not 
bud if about 45°, though at that heat they will be safer. 
Liliums of all kinds treat as recommended for other 
bulbs, keeping them dryish when in a state of rest. 
Lily of the Valley ( Convallaria majulis). —Unless there 
is some means of forcing this a little pots placed in a 
window will not greatly precede those out of doors. When 
forced forward it will stand a long time in bloom in a 
window. In potting for this purpose select plump, promi¬ 
nent, firm buds, with all their roots attached, and squeeze 
from ten to twenty of them into a six-inch pot, packed in 
rich sandy soil. A close box, with a little bottom heat, would 
bring them on nicely for the window. I have known pots 
forwarded a month or six weeks before those out of doors 
by the pots being set near the fireplace at night, placed in 
the sun during the day, and watered with water from 70° 
to 75°. 
Linum trigynum can hardly be recommended, though 
beautiful when in bloom in summer, as it is so subject to 
the red spider that it would require to be removed as soon 
as the flowering was over. Fibry loam suits it, and a dry 
position in winter secure from frost. 
Lobelia speciosa nova makes a fine neat mass of blue 
in summer—inside in an airy place, or outside full in the 
sun. The old speciosa and betlidifolia are the finest blues for 
trailing downwards from a vase or basket. All are easily 
raised from seed and cuttings in spring. Seedlings from 
the new sjieciosa are more robust than their parent, but not 
so trailing as the old one. 
Lophospermum spectabile and Hendersonii would 
make good neighbours to Hibbertia as suspenders, and are 
also valuable for baskets and verandahs either as creepers 
or trailers. Raised freely from cuttings, and also from 
seeds in spring. Plants raised from cuttings in the previous 
autumn will bloom more freely. I do not mention the 
strong-growing ones for this purpose; but erubcscens and 
scandens would be useful for verandahs that you wished to 
cover quickly and thickly in summer. Any fresh fibry loam 
will suit them. Very little frost destroys them. 
Maurandyas —purple, pink, and white—will all be useful 
for similar purposes as the above, and require very similar 
culture. They are more desirable, because more hardy. 
I saw, last summer, a plant of Barclayana grown in a 
pot packed in a basket suspended at the top of a window, 
with long shoots hanging down from it loaded with bloom. 
Mesembryanthemums. —For a list suitable see No. 441 of 
The Cottage Gardener, p. 402. The trailers and more 
compact succulents of this family are peculiarly suited to 
amateurs who can give no regular attention, as they pretty 
well take care of themselves. Easily propagated by cuttings 
allowed to dry at their base before inserting them in rough 
sandy soil. Soil, sandy loam, with a mixture of brick 
rubbish and charcoal. Temperature seldom below 35° or 
40° in winter, and as high as the sun will make it in summer 
and autumn. Water when growing and flowering in spring 
and summer, but even then moderately. In autumn and 
winter give no more than will just keep the leaves from 
shrivelling, and that will be little indeed. If the room is 
not dried with fire heat in winter the plants will want no 
water at all. 
Mignonette ( Reseda odorata). — For winter and spring 
blooming drain the pots well, and sow in fresh soil, having 
little manurial matter of any kind in it. Sow at the end of 
July and the middle of August, and again at the beginning 
of March, in the latter case placing the pots in the window. 
Thin as soon as handleable. For Tree Mignonette sow 
in small pots in April; thin to one plant when growing 
j nicely ; shift and reshift into larger pots as necessary until 
GENTLEMAN’S COMPANION, August 25, 1857. 
August. Meanwhile, tie the main stem to a neat stick, en¬ 
couraging it to mount to the desired height, whether eighteen 
or thirty-six inches, stopping all the lateral shoots at the 
first or second joint from the stem, not removing them, 
and nipping off every flower-bud until the plant has got a 
good head, so as to bloom all over. Be careful in watering, 
so that the soil shall neither be dry nor sodden, and give as 
much air as the weather will permit through the winter. 
Mimulus. —Get a pinch of seed of what are called the 
florist varieties, now as common as herbaceous Calceolarias ; 
sow in April under a square of glass; prick out the seed¬ 
lings as soon as you can catch them; and, when some size, 
either grow on in pots in the window, or plant them out on 
the balcony or the flower borders. It is not particular as to 
soil; but everywhere, whilst growing and blooming, it delights 
in plenty of water, but not in a stagnant state. You may 
take cuttings from the varieties that please you best, or 
purchase small plants of approved kinds. The same rule 
as to watering applies to all. The tribe likes plenty of 
fresh air, and if bordering upon frost will take no harm 
if the roots are not chilled by exposure. If kept in a 
moistish, cool place in winter it will require but com¬ 
paratively little water then. 
Musk ( Mimulus moschatus). —This, like the above, is 
propagated by seed and cuttings, but chiefly by a division 
of the root when vegetation is commencing. When 
growing and blooming it drinks greedily. When the 
leaves and stems begin to fade lessen the quantity of water. 
When they are wholly decayed give none at all if you 
can place the pot in a cool, damp place, such as a cellar. 
As spring returns, or long before then if the plant has 
been used to rest early, the roots will begin to push their 
shoots; then give it a little water and bring it to the light; 
and now is the time, if disposed, by division to make your 
plant into several, or even a dozen, and very likely each of 
these will flourish better than if you had left all the roots 
in the one original pot. 
Myosotis palustris. —The true For yet-me-not. There 
will be little difficulty in getting the plant either by seeds or 
roots. When growing supply it w r ith abundance of water in 
an airy window somewhat shaded. As autumn comes plunge 
your pot somewhere out of doors, and place a branch over 
it in winter, as your codling may have made it tender, and 
in the spring you may make several pots out of it by 
division, and thus scatter among your friends so many 
keepsakes to hold you in remembrance. 
Myrtjjs communis. —In our boyish days fair cousins, kind 
aunts, and doting grandmothers all had their Myrtles in 
their windows, and it was no uncommon thing to find three 
or four nice young plants growing round the old one, ready to 
be taken up as a friend required one. We see it more 
rarely now, and whether in its small-leaved or broad-leaved 
varieties it is a pleasant object in winter even when green, 
and in summer when in bloom. Sandy loam will grow it 
well. It will be all the better for a little heath soil or 
leaf mould. It will be comfortable in winter if the 
temperature is not long below 35°. In summer it will 
stand well out of doors from May to the end of October 
with its pot and roots protected from the sun. At no time 
must the shoots be dry. A close, hot room in winter will 
draw the shoots and make them weak. 
Narcissus. —For pots treat as for Hyacinths, only a good 
bulb will require a six-inch pot. See what was said under 
Bulbs. 
Nerine Sarniensis ( Guernsey Lily ).—Pot in light sandy 
loam when received, and they will bloom in the autumn with 
common attention. When the leaves come keep green as 
long as possible if you expect them to do good afterwards. 
Nerium oleander splendens. — Easily propagated by 
cuttings under a bellglass in May or June, or in a phial of 
water it taken off with a heel of the older wood. Stiffish 
loam with a little peat suits it best. Wffietlier a plant blooms 
every year or pvery second year the bloom can only be pro¬ 
duced this spring and summer at the ends of shoots that 
were grown and matured last season. W r e must prune and 
treat our plants according as w r e wish some of the shoots to 
bloom this year and some the next year, or all one year and 
none the next. Here in June is a plant with two shoots: one 
shows signs ot blooming, the other not. I cut the flowerless 
shoot down to near its base, that thence I may get two or 
