78 
CULTURE OF THE SIKKIM RHODODENDRONS. 
activity; for, of all the plants of a partially deciduous character, this F uchsm appears to me the most 
excitable after a sound rest. 
From this period they are coaxed into a most liberal growth by all available means; the chief con¬ 
ditions requisite being the usual appliances of warmth, light, and atmospheric moisture. In a short 
time they become so prolific in suckers, side shoots, &c., that thinning-out has to be practised ; and this 
is so managed as that a due succession of blossoms is secured from the tub or box to the very apex. 
Long before Midsummer they are blossoming abundantly, and means being taken previously to 
“harden them off,” they are henceforward set out in the flower-garden, in a light and sheltered 
situation. I may here mention that, from the moment the trees blossom freely, liquid manure is con¬ 
stantly plied, weak and clear. Such is the course of culture which produces them in the highest per¬ 
fection from Midsummer until Christmas; and little more need be said. 
It may here be observed that,no plant is more impatient of frost, in whatever stage, especially when 
in full blossom. The patron of this noble tree must consequently lay his account w r ith a perfect im¬ 
munity from this gardening meddler. Towards the middle of September, therefore, we get our prime 
pots in-doors, or else cover, on the least suspicion. As to soil, one-half strong turfy loam, and the 
other half compounded of leaf soil, cow manure (old), and heath soil, will grow them in the highest 
perfection, taking care to drain them well.— Robert Errington, Oulton Park. 
CULTURE OF THE SIKKIM RHODODEKDROKS. 
ITTIHE very general interest excited by these plants, from which the hybridizer may hope for a very 
A great addition to our present splendid hybrids, may render a few remarks on what I have found 
to be a good method of treating them not without interest ,* the more so as I have heard from 
various quarters that they are considered “miffey,” that is, apt to die off during the dormant season. I 
do not doubt but that this has in a great measure been caused by over-anxiety to grow them on into 
large plants by the aid of a strong heat, thereby inducing a tenderness of constitution which proves 
fatal to many of them when removed to a colder place to rest during the dormant season. Having 
lost only four plants out of nearly four hundred, I think I am qualified to speak from experience. My 
seeds were sown early in June, 1850, in shallow pans of peat, well drained; they were placed on the 
front stand of a vinery, then in the process of colouring the fruit, and as that involved the admission 
of a great amount of air, of course the temperature was not much above the average of summer 
weather. As soon as the plants had made two leaves, they were very carefully pricked out at one 
inch apart, some in shallow pans, and some in four-inch pots, which latter, in the upshot, produced 
the strongest plants. After standing in a shady part of the vinery for a few days, they were returned 
to the front stand, and remained until the first week in October. Some had made six and eight leaves, 
but the majority only four; by this time also most of both pots and pans were covered with a close 
short moss all through the plants, which, however unsightly, and indicative, as many would say, of bad 
treatment, I judged best to leave undisturbed, and therefore removed them to a cold pit, where they 
received only the ordinary treatment as regards covering, and more than once had to submit to several 
degrees of frost. Here they remained until early in February, 1851, having received scarcely any 
water through the winter. At that time they were removed to a fresh started vinery, and after a few 
days I commenced by potting the largest singly in small sixties, the next size three in such a pot, and 
the smallest six or eight in a six-inch pot, and the whole w r ere placed on shelves of the vinery. Of 
course the rooting process was anxiously watched, and as soon as the fibres began to show, they were 
shifted into a size larger pot, and eventually by the end of June they were nearly all potted singly in 
pots of various sizes. At this time the question of their future disposal became urgent, and we reasoned 
that as hothouse plants they were useless, and we could only find greenhouse and conservatory room 
for one or two of a sort. The greater part must eventually be trusted to the tender mercies of our 
uncertain climate, and it was agreed to educate them for that purpose. The whole were, consequently, 
