202 THE COTTAGE GARDENER AND COUNTRY GENTLEMAN’S COMPANION, December 23, 1856.* 
6-inch pot, and repot it into a 12-inch pot at once, using one 
part turfy loam, one part turfy peat, a liberal sprinkling of 
bits of charcoal, and a little silver sand, all well mixed 
together, but not sifted. Pat two inches of charcoal at the 
bottom of the pot, and cover it slightly with moss, to provent 
the soil getting amongst the drainage. 
In repotting the plant, loosen the roots a little, and spread 
them out as much as possible amongst the fresh soil, which 
press down firmly, and finish off evenly to within one inch 
of the rim of the pot. Tie the plant up to a stick, and give 
it a light, warm position in the hothouse. A slight bottom- 
heat would hasten its growth; but it will do very well 
without. Be very careful about the watering at the be¬ 
ginning. 
As the plant advances in growth train it on some wire or 
string all along under the roof, and, if all goes on well, it will 
by the autumn have made a shoot some twelve or fifteen feet 
long. In October coil the plant round a few sticks, and 
remove it to a temperature of 50° or 55°, giving it but just 
water enough to keep it alive. Let it remain in this state 
until the following February ; then repot it into a 15-inch 
pot, using the same kind of compost as before. Give it a 
good, large, barrel-shape trellis, around which train the 
plant in a spiral form, and give more heat and light, as you 
did the year before. Young shoots will soon make their 
appearance at almost every joint, and begin to coil around 
the trellis in every possible form; but they must be drawn 
carefully away, and be allowed to hang carelessly about, so 
as to be exposed fully to the light aud air, whereby they will 
grow closer jointed. 
As the bloom advances to maturity the branches can be 
tied in and regulated to the best advantage. 
As the blossoms expand remove the plant to the green¬ 
house or conservatory, where it will keep in bloom a long 
time. I have known a plant keep good for a month or six 
weeks on the top of a staircase, and filled the house with its 
perfume, most amply repaying one for all the pains taken 
with it. 
As the autumn comes on it must have the same treatment as 
it did the previous year, and in the spring it should be pruned 
exactly as you would a Grape Vine on the spur system, cut¬ 
ting back every lateral to one eye, and this severe pruning 
must take place every year. During its growing season it 
should have manure-water about twice a week, and should 
never be shaded except when in bloom. 
Its propagation is effected by planting cuttings in the 
usual way for stove plants.—W. II. Mould, West Everleiyli, 
Wilts. 
CULTURE OF HOYA BELLA. 
I perceive, in one of the August numbers for this year, 
Mr. Appleby has given an article on the grafting of Hoya 
Vella upon H. Bidwilliana. I can bear testimony to the 
health and vigour of Mr. Acombe’s plant, as I have seen it 
frequently both before and since Mr. Appleby saw it; but, 
with all due respect to Mr. Appleby, I certainly cannot say 
that the plant would-stand the test of an exhibition table 
against some other specimens that are to be found in the 
neighbourhood that are grown upon their own roots. I am 
rather surprised to hear Mr. Appleby make the assertion 
that he seldom meets with well-grown plants of II. Vella on 
its own roots out of London. This, I think, is calculated to 
mislead the amateur, and such as would otherwise attempt 
to grow one of the loveliest of our stove plants. For my 
part I consider it one of the easiest of stove plants to grow. 
I have grown it two feet and a half high, and as much 
through—not with a few shoots stretched out to make it 
extend the above width, but with as many branches as were 
possible to be in without crowding them. 
As this Hoya is one of the best (but not the best; I will 
tell you of the best some other time), and such as every 
amateur may grow that has a stove or intermediate house, 
I will state what I have learned and know about it from 
experience. 
Suppose any one were to begin with a small plant from 
the nursery about next March. If it has travelled any dis¬ 
tance, put it in the warmest house, where it will be partly 
shaded for a few days. At the end of, say a week, turn it 
out and examine the roots. If they are showing nicely 1 
through the soil you may repot it in a pot two sizes larger, 
after loosening the old soil a little with a sharp-pointed stick. 
In potting use plenty of drainage, and be sure to keep the 
collar of the plant well above the edge of the pot, for here 
lies the secret of this plant damping off at the collar. Many 
people never think of raising the collar of a stove plant 
above the level of the soil, as they would do with a Heath, 
or other choice greenhouse plant. 
When the operation of potting is finished, return the 
plant to its former place for a week, but give it no water, 
provided the soil is in good potting condition, that is, neither 
too wet nor over-dry; but give the plant a slight dewing 
with the syringe once a day. At the end of a week remove ! 
it to near the light, and give it a good watering ; but re¬ 
member to keep the spout of the water-can from the stem 1 
of the plant, for I have seen many people water plants. I 
And where do they let the water fall ? Not round the side 
of the pots; but nine out of every ten will pour on the water 
close to the collar or stem of the plant, and such plants as 
H. Vella will not endure it. 
As soon as you perceive the plant begin to grow away 
strongly, tie the branches down near the pot’s top at equal 
distances, and stop them all round. This will cause almost 
every eye to throw up a shoot, which should be tied out as 
it grows to admit light and air. 
If all goes on well the plant will require another shift into 
a larger-sized pot about the middle or end of June. Stop j 
all the branches about three weeks before this repotting 
takes place, so that the plant may break afresh before it is 
potted. Use the same precaution to keep the plant well up 
in the pot, and be cautious with water until the roots have 
taken hold of the fresh soil. Give it a temperature of 
from 60° to 75° all through the growing season, with plenty 
of moisture in the atmosphere of the house. 
Towards autumn bring the plant as near to the glass as 
possible, and give it more air and light, with less moisture 
both at the roots and in the atmosphere of the house. This 
will ripen the wood well up before winter, during which 
season it may be kept in a house ranging from 45° to 55°, 
but it will not stand a much lower temperature without 
injury. Through winter it will require but very little water 
at the roots. 
The following spring take your plant to the warmest house, 
and proceed in the same way with potting, syringing, &c.; 
but do not stop the shoots this season, except there be a 
shoot that is growing away faster than the rest, in which 
case I should tie the top of it down instead of stopping it, 
which would cause it to throw out side-branches and equalise 
the growth; but keep the shoots tied out, so that the plant 
gets all the light aud air possible. At the end of the second 
season you will have a nice little sturdy plant, furnished with 
green foliage down to the pot top, and all sides alike. 
As for grafting, I think, if I were going to graft Iloya Vella , 
1 should get a large shoot of Hoya imperialis and root it. 
Then I would graft H. Vella upon that, about three inches 
from the soil; for I think this is the likeliest way to make a 
good plant from grafting. 
The soil I have always found Hoya Vella to do best in is 
composed of good turfy loam one part, good leafy peat two 
parts, and soft, burnt brick one part, broken small. Mix 
these well together, and put it into a fine sieve and sift it. 
What goes through the sieve put by for anything you may ' 
think it useful for; what the sieve retains put on the potting- 
bench, and mix some white sand with it. In this way you 
may pot Hoya Vella. After the plant is potted put a little 
sand over the compost, to exclude, or rather, to partly exclude, 
the air. In such it will grow to perfection without damping 
off. I have said nothing about flowering, for if the plant is 
grown well there will be no difficulty about its blooming, as 
it is such a free-blooming plant.—W. Dyment, Leeds. 
MEETING OF CULTIVATED FRUITS AND 
VEGETABLES TO PROTEST AGAINST THE 
WASTE OF THEIR FOOD. 
A large Meeting of Fruits and Vegetables was held on 
Friday, November 14th, at the Globe Artichoke, Pine Apple 
