268 
THE COTTAGE GARDENER AND COUNTRY GENTLEMAN, January 31, 1860. 
I do not think it is worth while to incur all this trouble unless 
in cases of great urgency; and for general planting there is no 
period of time so suitable as the early autumnal months, beginning 
with the middle of August, which is the best time of all, and 
continuing through September. At that period the nights are 
damp and dewy, and the perspiration of plants is less active than 
in drier seasons. Added to this, the earth has accumulated its 
maximum of bottom heat—a most essential point for stimulating 
the young roots to action, as upon this action thus induced must 
depend the fate of the trees in the drying month of March. 
This is a rule applying with equal force to a tree or shrub about 
to be removed. 
It is a lamentable fact, that in places which have been thickly 
planted so few specimens tit for removal can be found, having 
been drawn up and spoiled by standing too thickly ; and I 
would caution the reader against the use of such plants, as they 
are not possessed of what Sir Henry Stuart calls “ protecting 
properties.” 
It is extraordinary how much success in transplanting depends 
on the proper selection of a subject for our operations. If it is 
removed from the interior of a plantation, where it has been 
nursed and sheltered, it can scarcely be expected to thrive in a 
bleak and windy situation. The adaptability of plants in this 
respect is singular enough. There is on the exposed side of 
every tree a greater density of branches than exists elsewhere; 
and if such a tree is transplanted into a thickly sheltered place, 
these appearances will gradually disappear, the bark will become 
polished and smooth, and the branches lax and diffuse. 
We believe that the planting of young trees is, generally 
speaking, very imperfectly done, and one of the greatest faults 
consists in inserting them too deeply into the ground. The 
roots, too, are frequently crowded together in a heap instead of 
being carefully laid out in their natural directions. These points 
deserve the attention of planters. The planting of young trees 
is very simple if done methodically. 
There is a great fund of interest and amusement in trans¬ 
planting large trees and shrubs, so as to give a finished effect to 
what were bare grounds. Such was the noble effort of Prince 
Maurice, who was Governor of Brazil in 1696. He built a mag¬ 
nificent palace, laid out splendid gardens, and in order to give 
the immediate effect of wood, removed “700 Cocoa trees of 
various sizes,” of which some rose to thirty, some to forty, and 
some to fifty feet in height, to the lowermost branches. 
Henry Bailey, Nuneham. 
IHUNBERGIA HARRISII AND HOVEA CELSII 
CULTURE. 
“I have a plant of tho Thuribergia Sarrisii , which grew and 
flowered a little last summer in a nine-inch pot. I gave it a shift 
into an eleven-inch pot, with some broken bones and charcoal 
for crocks ; the soil, a mixture of loam and peat. It grew fast, 
and produced fine leaves (eight inches by three), and many 
flower-spikes. In November the leaves began to shrivel a little, 
and the flowers did not open, so I gave it a shift into a thirteen- 
inch pot; but I was very disappointed that not above three of 
the blooms opened, and the leaves continue to shrivel. It has 
been kept in a heat of from 50° to 70°. I have given it water 
regularly. 
“ I have also a plant of the llovea Celsii, which produced a 
quantity of flower-buds, which did not open in the middle of last 
summer as I expected. It has been kept in the conservatory and 
rather shaded. The buds are still on, and it looks healthy.”— 
A Subscriber. 
I think that at least you have made two mistakes with this 
plant: first, using bones at all freely for drainage, and shifting 
your plant in November. The whole tribe will grow luxuriantly 
if they have anything at all rich to feed upon; but then tho 
leaves will feel the slightest check, and this extra luxuriance will 
be produced at the expense of free flowering. When the plants 
are too gross in habit, there will be a tendency from extra strength 
to throw olf the flower-buds. If the plant were kept any long 
time in such a low temperature as 50°, and when arrived at the 
flowering state, the symptoms spoken of would readily occur, 
especially if not carefully watered. 1 can form little idea of 
what “ regularly watered” means, except it is that the plant had 
as much and no more than it required under the circumstances. 
For instance : if the plant were dryish—not too dry for a tem¬ 
perature of o0 or 55 in a dull day — and tho sun, coining sud¬ 
denly and unclouded, raised the temperature to 70° or more, 
then the leaves would perspire more than the roots could readily 
supply them with nourishment, and the leaves would flag or 
wither. On the other hand, if the temperature were long at 50°, 
and the roots were very wet, and the weather were dull, the whole 
plant would become in a sort of dropsical state, glutted with 
juices which it could not get rid of. These evils would be 
aggravated by your shifting your plant in a flowering state in 
the month of November. The most active roots of the plant 
were next the sides of the pot. In potting from the nine-inch 
i to the tliirteen-inch pot you gave them a check, and surrounded 
them with fresh-growing material, which, under favourable circum¬ 
stances, would encourage fresh luxuriance rather than blooming. 
All plants in pots should have the pots filled with roots before 
the time of blooming arrives. Many plants fail to bloom 
altogether, or drop their blooms, if fresh shifted after the bloom- 
buds appear. This plant would require a medium temperature of 
60° to open its blooms kindly, and I would under the circum¬ 
stances have preferred the nine-inch to the thirteen-inch pot. I 
once saw a plant showing such signs as yours, but that was from 
want, of watering carefully. The soil in the ball had been allowed 
to get very dry, and a good proportion of that being loam, it had 
been drawn from the sides of the pot, and, consequently, future 
waterings had escaped by that medium, leaving the centre of the 
ball unwetted. The plant not thriving as was expected, was 
shifted into a larger pot, and this just presented raw, fresh soil 
for the water to escape by. At length the plant was taken out of 
the pot, and the old ball thoroughly examined, and the cause at 
once discovered ; and after standing an hour in water heated to 
75°, the plant was repotted and did well. 
Had I your plant in summer, in a nine-inch pot, I should have 
preferred top dressing it, and giving a little manure watering in 
preference to shifting it once or twice more that season. When 
young and until it came to be placed in a six or seven-inch pot, 
I should have given it a compost of peat, loam, and rich leaf 
mould and a moist heat to encourage growth; but when I gave 
it its last shift into a flowering-pot of from nine to twelve inches, 
instead of anything rich I should have given equal parts of rough 
loam and heath mould, and as much of them, both of rough lime 
rubbish and some bits of charcoal, using all rough, and only 
having from a quarter to half an inch of rather fine material on 
the surface, to prevent the air entering too freely. I once grew a 
large collection of these plants, and I attributed the successful 
and dense flowering of them to a free use of lime rubbish in the 
compost, which prevented the blooms being hidden and covered 
with Cabbage-like leaves. The leaves, also, being less luxuriant and 
more firm and compact, were less injured by sudden changes of 
heat and cold, wet and dryness. Almost the* whole family require 
a free use of the syringe to keep down red spider. Sometimes 
the tender shoots are assailed by green fly, but not often. If, 
notwithstanding the temperature indicated, your plant still keeps 
unhealthy, I should recommend taking it out of the thirteen-inch 
pot, shaking a good part of the old soil away, as well as all the 
new, and repotting again in an eight or nine-inch pot, and give, if 
possible, a little bottom heat at first. This would be rather 
against any flower-buds opening, but would be good for the plant 
next season. If not done now, I should certainly do so next 
spring, and give the last shift early in the summer. 
IIOVEA CELSII. 
I do not so easily see through the cause of failure with this 
beautiful llovea, if failure there has been. It generally blooms 
most freely in spring and summer ; but, if permitted, it is almost 
a constant bloomer. Sometimes we have seen many buds on the 
young shoots of plants, which were rather thick in clusters, and 
I remained a considerable time in that position before they were 
sufficiently advanced to expand fully. This was more particularly 
tho case when the plant was growing freely. I almost judge, 
therefore, that your buds will open all right enough yet. If the 
buds had dropped, and the plant had looked unhealthy, I should 
have come to the conclusion that the drainage was defective; or 
that the centre of the ball had got too dry from a system of 
watering at the surface, and not giving as much at each watering 
as would be sufficient to moisten the ball. 
I am not aware that much has been said of this plant of late, 
and do not recollect that a full detailed account of culture has 
appeared at all in Tub Cottage Gardener, though the main 
points have been several times alluded to ; and therefore it may 
suit you, as well as others, to give an outline of culture. 
In choosing a plant to begin with, select one young and 
