26 
THE FLORIST AND POMOLOGIST, 
[Fbbruaiiy, 
GOLD-LACED POLYANTHUSES. 
DO not think that there is much differ¬ 
ence of opinion between Mr. Douglas 
and myself as to the treatment of these 
interesting plants ; but he appears to 
assume at times the possession of an exclusive 
knowledge; and when he mounts this hobby 
he is in danger of being a little incorrect, if 
not unjust in his inferences. What men like 
myself are attempting to do in a small and 
somewhat crude way, in the face of disadvan¬ 
tages and difficulties, ought scarcely to he put 
into comparison with what Mr. Douglas does 
with his many conveniences, great resources, 
and unlimited labour and attention. 
My difficulty with Polyanthuses in pots 
has been that the very care taken to preserve 
them from frost and cold winds in a common 
frame, necessitated such close and continued 
covering up, that the plants failed from over¬ 
dryness at the roots. Thus it vras I conceived 
the idea of keeping the pots in an open frame 
all the winter, uncovered and fully open to the 
weather when favourable, but sheltered from 
excessive rain and frost. I was- led to think 
favourably of this method from what I saw in 
Mr. Barlow’s garden at Stakehill, Manchester, 
last spring. Some plants of named Gold-laced 
Polyanthuses that had remained out of doors 
all the winter in an open and unprotected 
frame came through the winter much better 
than others of the same sorts that had been 
kept in pots under glass during that period 
of the year. True, it was an exceptionally 
mild winter, but it was very rigorous at times, 
and there was the added risk of the Man¬ 
chester atmosphere. 
Up to this date (Jan. 14), my plants— 
about thirty in number—and all in 48-sized 
pots, have stood out in an open frame on a 
bed of cocoa fibre, sheltered from the spells 
of frosts we have had, and heavy rains. And 
they have all rooted and grovm finely ; and 
though I have heard that some of the northern 
growers expose their plants all the winter in 
this way, I am unwilling to run the risk of 
loss, and they are now being removed to the 
Auricula house, where they wdll he more open 
to inspection than in a cold frame. They 
look so well, and have rooted so freely, that 
I hope I may bring them successfully through 
the winter, and have a good head of bloom. 
And being compelled to grow my Auriculas 
and Polyanthuses all the year round in a north 
house, or on a northern exposed site, without 
any means of artificial warmth, both classes 
of plants flower so late with me, that I cannot 
get them into bloom in time for the London 
show in April, unless the spring proves an 
exceptionally warm and early one. This is 
another disadvantage; but the time does 
come, sooner or later, when I am gratified by 
the sight of some pips of great beauty. Be¬ 
cause a man cannot always come up to time 
in a fight of this kind, it does not follow that 
he is necessarily an unsuccessful exhibitor, as 
I have been characterized, but if the fray were 
renewed a little later, under more equal con¬ 
ditions, the result might be different. The 
lack of success at a particular moment does 
not mean the absence of ability to command it 
on some other occasion, though this confusion 
is not unfrequently apparent in the minds of 
not a few observers.—R. Dean, Ealing, W. 
ARAUCARIA MULLERI. 
S HE Araucaria 21ulleri is a tree of the 
future which will take its rank among 
the most esteemed of the conifers. It 
^ was discovered by Pancher, at Mount 
Congui, in New Caledonia, whence horticul¬ 
turists have already received so many precious 
species. Introduced alive into the establish¬ 
ment of M. J. Linden, it has become the 
property of the Continental Company, and 
although the samples in culture may not yet 
be entirely characteristic, it attracts the atten¬ 
tion of critics. The relatively considerable 
height at which this Araucaria grows in its 
native country, allows us to affirm that there 
will be little difficulty as to its natural con¬ 
ditions. Its leaves are oval, imbricate, and 
almost flat, and they are marked in the 
direction of their length with small wffiitish 
spots arranged in series. According to M. 
Brongniart, the male catkins are cylindrical, 
from 14 to 1? in. broad, and from 8 to 10 in. 
long. Tho cone is ovoid in form, Sf in. broad, 
and 5f in. long; the scales measuring about 
1|- in. in breadth and length. Thus far we 
have quoted the remarks given by M. Rodigas 
in Uhistratmi Horticolc (t. 449), where a 
coloured figure of one of the young plants 
cultivated at Ghent is given. The accompany- 
