102 
THE FLORIST AND POMOLOGIST. 
LJulx, 
cuneatum ; for many as are the good qualities 
of that fern, one of its great failings is that 
it will not last long in a cut state, whilst 
Asparagus plunwsus lasts for a considerable 
time. I have had sprays of it in water for 
four or five weeks, with gas burning in the 
room every night, and at the expiration of 
that time the sprays were nearly as fresh as 
when first cut. For bouquets it is charming. 
“Asparagus plumosm maybe described as 
a greenhouse plant. It thrives well either in 
a stove or greenhouse—the higher the tempera¬ 
ture the more rapid and tender the growth ; 
plants which have been grown in a greenhouse 
are slightly more sturdy than the others.” 
EUPHORBIA FULGENS. 
Jf n^HE Euphorbia fulgens, called also 
E. jacquinimflora, is one of the very 
best winter-flowering stove plants we 
possess. It was introduced to this 
country over forty years ago, and its popu¬ 
larity at the present day is sufficient evidence 
of its merits. Nor is this surprising, for 
amongst small flowered plants that bloom 
during the winter time, its brilliant scarlet 
flowers are unequalled for their intensity of 
colour. They are produced in clusters on 
short stalks, springing from the base of the 
elegant lanceolate leaves over a considerable 
portion of the preceding summer’s growth, 
which thus forms continuous wreath-like com¬ 
binations of flowers and foliage, unsurpassed 
by any plant in cultivation. Not only is this 
Euphorbia a handsome object when grown in a 
pot, but it is even more so when planted out 
so as to cover a wall or pillar, for which pur¬ 
pose it is well adapted. For use in arrange¬ 
ments of cut flowers it is most effective, its 
intense colour contrasting with almost any¬ 
thing else. 
Being a native of Mexico it requires con¬ 
siderable warmth to grow and flower it. It 
is easily grown, but, being a spare rooter, it 
must never be over-potted, or if planted out 
be allowed too much root room, for when the 
roots have more soil about them than they can 
fully occupy, they are liable to rot if they get 
at all over-wet. It strikes readily from cuttings, 
but there is this peculiarity about the plant, 
that if the cuttings are taken off in the ordin¬ 
ary w r ay, that is, by selecting the points of the 
young growth alone, very few will root, their 
sappy nature causing them to rot; but if the 
following course is followed not many will fail 
to grow. After the plants have done blooming, 
about the beginning of March, cut the preced¬ 
ing summer’s shoots back to within eight or 
ten inches of where they sprung from and 
place the plants in a temperature of (35° in 
the night, and proportionately higher by day, 
tolerably near the glass, so that the young 
growth will come stout and firm, not giving 
more water to the soil than will keep it mode¬ 
rately moist; in the course of a fortnight the 
plants will break, and as soon as the young 
shoots are about six inches long take them off 
with a heel of the old wood, insert them five 
or six together in four- or five-inch pots, 
drained and half-filled with sandy soil, the 
remainder all sand, which is to be kept moist 
and covered with a propagating glass. If a 
little bottom heat can be given without keeping 
the cuttings too dark or far from the glass, it 
will answer, or they will root without bottom 
heat if the temperature is equal to, or a little 
above, that wherein the cuttings have been 
grown ; as soon as well rooted, put them singly 
in three-inch pots, using good loam with a 
little rotten manure, and as much sand as will 
keep the whole porous; pot firmly, and keep 
them close for a few days until growth has 
commenced, after which inure them to the 
atmosphere of the house and stand them near 
the glass. 
When they have grown a few inches pinch 
off’ the points of the shoots so as to induce them 
to break out. The plant is a spare-branching 
erect grower, and will not assume a bush-like 
form. Give more heat as the season advance’s; 
they will bear 70° in the night, and 80° or 85° 
by day. Towards the end of May move them 
into pots about seven inches diameter, which 
will be large enough for them to grow and 
bloom in the first year. When fairly estab¬ 
lished, which they should be by the beginning 
of July, take off the points of the shoots 
again, and when they have grown and the soil 
has got moderately full of roots give a little 
manure water weekly through the summer.. 
A pit where they can receive the requisite 
heat and be kept near the glass will answer 
better than a more lofty structure. Admit 
enough air during the day all through the 
