7i 
THE COTTAGE GARDENER AND COUNTRY 
numbers, for country orders, as most people can manage 
it now—one of tbe very best greenhouse plants of late 
introduction; ditto, about one of tbe oldest Wilsonia co- 
njmbosa. Tbe only secret is to give it sandy peat only, 
to put in a frame in winter, and out in summer. What 
a splendid autumn bed it makes, or rather, an edge all 
round a bed of Gladioluses. 
There were 3000 Pintis Benthamii, one of tbe finest of 
them all, in pots, and plunged. A new (to me) Clematis 
Jlava, a true Canary yellow, tbe flowers of the size ot C. 
Hendersonii, but is of tbe Flammula section. Thousands 
of seedlings of Podocarpus nubigera, which will come tbe 
nearest to Araucaria imbricata, a native of Patagonia, 
and northwards to tbe limits of tbe Araucaria region. 
This is, unquestionably, one of the most distinct Coni¬ 
fers that have been introduced of late years. A dried 
specimen tree, which was sent over with tbe seeds, 
proves all this. Podocarpus Andina, also from Pata¬ 
gonia, is next to Nubigera in interest. The Thuja gi- 
gantea, alias Libocedrus decurrens, grows apace, and 
reveals its real beauty more and more each time one 
sees it. 
But we must get inside tbe bouses to note a new 
propagating-house, of which Mr. Low is as proud as I 
was of tbe first pair of real shoes I bad. He wrote on 
the mysteries of propagation, and on a new propagating- 
house, in tbe first volume of Loudon’s Gardener’s Magazine, 
in 1820; and the subject has not been absent from his 
mind from that day to this, except Sundays, of course ; 
and this house is the perfection of experience in the 
matter. The length is seventy-five feet, and twelve feet 
wide; -a glass division in the middle, a path down the 
centre,and a span roof; a bed on the right and leftover 
tanks eight inches deep of water, and two pipes running 
through each of them for bottom-heat. For top-heat, the 
pipes run along the sides of the path, and the wall of the 
bed is arched a little to allow the pipes to be “ flush ” 
with the face of it, and so to be out of the way. Over the 
back bed, which is the keeper of the grand secrets, are 
lights glazed with Hartley’s fluted glass, which requires 
no shading there. This is not roof glass, but lights like 
Cucumber lights, over the best propagating-bed inside, 
and, when a bell-glass is over cuttings, there will be 
three coverings of glass in all. I have often said, they 
never keep the grand secrets from me in the nurseries, 
although 1 cannot keep a secret for all the world. When 
cuttings are potted off, they stand over the front bed, 
from there they are removed to the other division, and 
thence to all parts of the world. The first “ grand se¬ 
cret” I found was, lots and lots of the blue Allamanda 
(A. violacea of Gardener). 
In Gardener’s narratives of his routes in Brazil, 
published in the Journal of the Horticultural Society, 
vol. iii., page 151, is the only notice we have of this 
fine plant. “ One of the finest plants met with at this 
time was a most beautiful new species of Allamanda 
(which he named Violacea), a shrub from four to six feet 
high, bearing numerous large flowers, not unlike those 
of Gloxinia speciosa in colour. This is by far the most 
beautiful species belonging to the genus, all of which, 
with this exception, bear yellow flowers.” “ By far the 
most” fortunate man in England am I for being the 
first to tell you of the lots and lots of cuttings of the 
blue Allamanda in that bed. They are now potted off, 
and will be at your service next March or April, or as 
soon as it is safe to haul them about. 1 little thought 
that I should live to see the blue Allamanda, but I did 
see it; and I do say that it is a lucky hit for me to be 
the first to announce the fact to the nations, kindreds, 
and kingdoms through which circulate these pages. 
To get cuttings of the Norfolk Island Pine, all you 
have to do is to break oft’ the leading bud a little before 
its starting. Four or five leaders come up for it, or in 
j place of it; and each of them roots as easily as wo 
GENTLEMAN’S COMPANION.— November 4,1856. 
root Scarlet Geraniums. Begonia Saundersonii, a cross 
between Semperforens and Ingrarnii, is one of the most 
useful, ns it blooms till “ bloom comes again,” or from 
May till April. It does not take up much room, looks 
well, and is swee'-seented at night. A -ea 1 shot-silk 
leaved Begonia, called Ileiehu,lu-im>i (pr*• oumrd lia. 
hemi). The leaves of this wonderful Begonia are red 
and purple, in shot-silk-like shades from September to 
April, and silvery-white in summer. It is of the same 
breed as Zantliina. Lasiandra Hooilrenkii (Baron 
Hugel’s late gardener), a beautiful Mexican Melastomad, 
related to Pleroma. Mr. Hooilrenk, one of the best 
practical botanists in Europe after Mr. Smith, the 
Curator of Few Gardens, was gardener to Baron Hugel 
for many years ; but the Baron gave him several of his 
glass houses, and he is now a nurseryman on his own 
account on the other side of the way from Baron 
Hugel’s, and four miles from Vienna : both of them are 
i well known to London gardeners. 
A new dw r arf Amaranthus from Java would make a 
nice edging-plant along the side of a stove-bed or plat¬ 
form. Pentas rosea is used for cut flowers all winter. 
Maranta pardina, with two sets of panther spots along 
each leaf. Maranta metallica, with two shades of green 
and a shade of purple in each leaf. Encholirium 
Jonghei, a fine new Vriesia-like flowering-plant from 
Brazil; the dried flower-stalk is a yard high. Nepenthes, 
or Pitcher Plants, come from cuttings here as freely as 
bedding-plants. D. BeVion. 
ANSWERS TO BEGINNERS. 
Potnsettia puloherrima. —“My plants were very lanky, 
and I stopped them all over in the end of July, to make 
them more bushy. They are yet in cold pits — leaves 
getting yellow — shoots small, but numerous, and no 
appearance of flower-buds. What is wrong?”—Much. 
Remove them from the cold pits to where they can have 
from 50° to 60° at least. This will stop the yellowing of 
the leaves, and help to ripen the back buds for next 
season. As to flowers, if you have any, they will be 
small. The flowers, of course, you know, at any time are 
not much. The crimson bracts, or floral leaves, are the 
great attraction ; and a mass of them, resembling in. width j 
an old-fashioned, broad-brimmed, blue bonnet, can only | 
be obtained from the points of strong, well-matured ! 
shoojs. Do what you will there are many plants which ! 
i will never be cut into a bush-form, and this is one of 
| them. All you can do with an oldish plant is, to get a 
certain number of shoots to start somewhat equal in 
i strength at first, and to secure several shoots on young 
plants. No stopping should take place after the end of 
May. The plants grow freely in peat and loam, with a 
little broken brioks and lime-rubbish ; and, when grow¬ 
ing freely, will be benefited by a mulching of rotten old 
cow-dung. After the middle of June they must have all 
the light possible, and a fair amount of heat. For this 
latter purpose they may be kept in a forcing-house, plant 
stove, or, until the middle of September, in a cold pit, 
kept moist and close. After that, the plants should have 
more air and less water, and be secured from cold nights, 
and they will show to advantage in November and De¬ 
cember. When done flowering keep the plants dryish, 
so that they do not shrivel. Pack them close together 
when the leaves fall, and anywhere, so that the tem¬ 
perature ranges from 45° to 50°. In spring prune back 
to the last bud or two on the last year’s shoots. When 
the buds are started, repot and grow on again for next 
year. The beautiful Euphorbia Jacquiniflora must be 
treated somewhat similarly, only it need not be pruned 
back so much in spring, and it must have kinder and 
warmer treatment when the flowering is finished. It 
