207 
THE COTTAGE GARDENER AND COUNTRY GENTLEMAN, July 0, 1858. 
plants iii*st so grown were imported from Germany. A very 
few speeies were first grown in this way; but from their 
prettiness, if I may coin such a term, they are now grown in 
considerable numbers, and displayed in shop windows in 
Regent Street, and other places, in London, proving that the 
smoke and dust of a large city has but little effect, on these 
pigmy plants. There are a large number of what old gardeners 
called dry stove plants, that may be grown in this style 
successfully, and be a source of innocent pleasure, and, pos¬ 
sibly, a great relief to many a victim of lingering ill health. 
And if, by watching the slow progress of the growth, and, in 
some cases, flowering of such plants, the mind of an invalid 
can be diverted occasionally from dwelling upon the pains 
and languor of a diseased body, the culture of them will have 
been of some use. Many a young miss—or master, too—may, 
perhaps, be led into the love of plants, and their minds biassed 
in the right direction, if they have some tiny plants of their 
own to cultivate and care for. The love of any of the pro- 
! ductions of the Almighty has always a tendency to draw the 
young from evil, and may possibly bring forth the germ of a 
budding botanist, or a good cultivator of plants. One proof 
that such happy effects may be the result of putting it in the 
power of a young person to cultivate a tiny garden, now lies 
before me in our correspondent’s queries. He is evidently 
young, and, having noticed and been pleased with what he 
saw in a shop window, is desirous to know how he may 
manage such plants himself. And, no doubt, there are many 
of the rising generation around us who have the same de¬ 
sire ; such should be encouraged to follow the bent of their 
inclination, and thus be led to “ love that which is good, and 
liate that which is evil.” 
Having introduced my subject by the above preliminary 
remarks, I now address myself to answering the queries of our 
correspondent. The first is easily disposed of: there is no book 
published as yet on the subject. The second, “ How am I to 
manage them?” may, for the sake of perspicuity, be divided 
into—1st. The kinds of plants suitable for the purpose. 
2nd. Propagation. 3rd. The soil they require. 4th. Pots 
and potting. 5th. Where to grow them; and last, Their 
management in summer and winter. 
The kinds of plants suitable for the purpose our cor¬ 
respondent alludes to are the Cacti, —a general name, expressive 
of a class containing many sub-genera, each again divided into 
the species belonging to it. From this class a large number of 
species may be selected, that will answer admirably for the 
miniature greenhouse. They are well adapted for the purpose, 
because of their slow growth, and the small quantity of soil 
necessary to keep them just growing : hence they may be kept 
in small'pots for many years. Many of them are found in the 
hottest parts of the globe; yet, in culture, we find they will, 
if kept dry both at the root and in the air, bear a very low 
temperature, providing it is not actually frosty. They, as a 
matter of course, will bear the hottest of our summer days, 
fully exposed to the sun; but then is the time they require a 
large supply of moisture at the root, and they are even benefited 
by exposure to the genial rains of that season. 
The next great tribe of plants, that may be subjected to this 
: treatment, are the Mesembryaythemums,— -a long word, I 
fear, for our young gardeners, but not difficult to pronounce 
if the stress is laid upon the centre syllable. We have not 
an English name for this tribe, unless we call them, as is 
sometimes done, the Fig Mangolds;. These are even easier to 
cultivate than the Cacti, for they are hardier, and not so sub¬ 
ject to damp off in winter. Many of the most suitable kinds, 
in this class, have not as yet been used for this purpose, 
chiefly, I suppose, because they are not generally grown, ex¬ 
cepting at Kew and other botanic gardens; yet they are so 
easily propagated, that I am somewhat surprised nurserymen 
! do not cultivate them for this especial, as well as more 
general, purposes. 
The Dwarf Aloe, now known under the name of II a - 
■ivorLida- , is also a genus that contains many neat, small plants 
that do well in small pots. The Mesembryantliemums and 
the Aloes are all from that prolific region for plants, the Cape 
of Good Hope, and are, consequently, pretty hardy for a win¬ 
dow or tiny greenhouse. Many amateurs, possessing only a 
small greenhouse, attempt to grow such plants as Heaths, 
Epacris, and other similar plants, with very indifferent suc¬ 
cess ; whereas, if they would procure and grow such plants 
as I am now describing, as fit for the tiny garden, they woidd 
succeed well, with half the amount of labour and anxiety they 
bestow upon plants that are almost sure to disappoint them. 
Crassula. —This large genus affords a considerable number 
of species, very well adapted for the miniature greenhouse, 
and equally as easy to cultivate, providing the management 
I shall hereafter describe is attended to. From this tribe 
many of the tiny plants are drawn that we see in the windows 
of confectioners and others in the metropolis. This genus is 
also nearly hardy, the species being for the most part from 
the Cape of Good Hope. The plants in it are very easily 
propagated by cuttings. I would just as soon have a cutting 
as a rooted plant, for they strike as easy as Willows, only let 
the cuttings dry for a few hours before inserting them in the 
pots. 
Sedum.— There are a few species of this tribe that may be 
used with advantage, to grow in small pots, and they are easily 
procured, because many of them are natives of our rocks and 
walls in this country. They are the tiniest of all the plants 
I have mentioned for this purpose: hence they may be grown 
in pots one inch wide and one inch deep. 
Semperviyuh. —That these plants are easy to grow is ex¬ 
pressed in the name. It is derived from semper vivo, to live 
for ever ; so tenacious are they of life, that I have had speci¬ 
mens alive for nine months without either earth or water. 
Many of the species are found on the Canary Islands, and | 
some few at Madeira. Some of the larger species may be ! 
dwarfed in the Chinese style, by cramping at the root, and 
by drought. No people are more ingenious than the China¬ 
men in making dwarf plants. I once saw an Elm tree, more i 
than forty years old, that was not half as many inches high. 
It was growing in a large shell, and was a truly singular ob¬ 
ject, though far from pleasing. 
There are some smaller tribes that furnish a few plants. I 
shall, if all be well, give a complete list at the close of my 
paper on this subject, from which my young friends may select ! 
any number they may wish to grow.—T. Appleby. 
(To be continued.) 
BEES IN AUSTRALIA AND NEW ZEALAND. 
Cay any of your readers inform me where I can procure a 
copy of the Rev. Mr. Cotton’s observations on bees, written 
and published by him during a residence in New Zealand, or, 
as it is now more correctly written, Zealandia ? It has been 
affirmed that this tract was the first production of the native 
press of that country ; and is alluded to, though rather sneer- 
ingly, m Mr. Charles Ilurstliouse’s recent work on Zealandia. 
I have no doubt that many of your apiarian readers have been 
looking for some communication from our old friend, “A 
Country Curate,” on the bees of Australia and Tasmania, 
and the progress of apiculture in those regions. I think the 
information he, no doubt, has it in his power to give us, “ who 
stay at home at ease,” would be extremely interesting.—T. 
[We shall be much obliged by information in reply to our 
correspondent. We see, in “ The New Zealand Emigrant’s 
Bradshaw,” it is stated, “ The common bee, introduced with 
extraordinary success, now frequently swarms in the woods, 
and here and there stores a tree with the finest honey.”] 
The Wild Raspberry. —The Raspberry is found wild 
very commonly in Scotland, but less so south of the Tweed. | 
It delights in the northern woods, or in the stony margins of 
mountain torrents; when in blossom and dried, it makes a 
very pretty specimen. By the stony margins of some of the j 
Scottish lochs the wild Raspberry is found in great perfection. 
It used to grow profusely, and may do so still, by the bank 
“ Of sweet St. Mary’s,” 
in Selkirkshire,—a lovely sheet of water, which lies embosomed 
amid the pastoral hills of what are sometimes called the 
Southern Highlands, and which used to be a favourite haunt 
of Scott and of Wilson, and was of Eliot Warburton, just 
previous to his last and fatal voyage.— Wild Flowers , by 
Spencer Thomson , M.D. 
