98 
THE FLORIST’S JOURNAL. 
it to flower freely. It is easily increased by cuttings of the 
half-ripened wood, put in sand, and kept close in a warm situa¬ 
tion. It blooms freely from July to October, having sometimes 
upwards of thirty flowers in a cluster. — Bot. Beg. 
ON RAISING MARTYNIA FRAGRANS. 
The frequent .ejaculations of disappointment in the raising of 
this beautiful annual from seed, that are poured forth every 
season, seem to imply that its proper management is not yet 
clearly understood; some detailed remarks on the subject may, 
therefore, possess their interest, especially as it is not yet too 
late to be serviceable for the present year. It is, unfortunately, 
too well known that the ordinary treatment usual for plants of 
the same character, or what are commonly termed half-hardy 
annuals, fails of success when applied to the present subject; 
and what renders the difficulty most inexplicable is, that though 
other plants, even from the same locality, readily conform to 
their altered circumstances, yet the Martynia obstinately refuses 
to yield to the culturist’s art, until subject to applications of the 
most strenuous nature; the horny envelope, of the plumule, 
defying all its attempts to force a passage until removed by 
artificial means, or the effects of an extraordinary stimulant. 
Observing in all the numerous cases of failure which came under 
my notice during the first season that my attention was directed 
to this plant, that the seed remained perfectly sound in the 
mould, although buried for months, I felt nearly certain that 
its removal would greatly facilitate the development of the 
embryo bud, if it was not, indeed, the only obstacle to its growth. 
Acting on this idea, I invariably cut away the greater portion 
of the hard, woody skin, carefully preserving the white cotyle¬ 
dons beneath from injury, and then apply a bottom heat, which, 
with any other vegetable form to act upon, might well be 
termed extraordinary. The place in which I have induced 
seeds of Martynia fragrans to vegetate freely for the last three 
years is nothing less than a hot-water tank, used to heat a small 
propagating house, the average temperature of the water in 
contact with the pot containing the seed being about 160 °, 
