42 
DESCRIPTIVE LIST OF NEW PLANTS, 
ported in the centre by a single upright, having holes in the 
upper end, through which a pin is .placed to keep the top of the 
cloth in its place ; and the bottom of the covering is attached to 
a stout iron hoop, by means of small rings, which by working 
over and along the hoop, and the cloth opening up one side, en¬ 
ables the whole or any part to be drawn aside for the admission 
of air; this, we need scarcely repeat, should be given on the 
north side. The hoop is kept securely fastened to the ground by 
driving several hooked pegs round its circumference, and a string 
run through the hoilet holes on the edges of the cloth and drawn 
tight, will keep the plants snug and perfectly safe. Either 
of the modes represented must be considered as decidedly pre¬ 
ferable in every respect to the untidy, troublesome coverings of 
mats, and one not a whit more expensive, being easily fixed or 
removed, and will last with care for a number of years. 
Editor. 
DESCRIPTIVE LIST OF NEW PLANTS. 
Verbenace.e. —Didynamia Angiospermia. 
Mastacanthus sinensis. This is an autumn flowering herba¬ 
ceous plant, growing from one and a half to two feet high, and 
forming neat little bushy tufts. It is in a gardening point of 
view of some importance, because it furnishes an abundance of 
rich violet blossoms at a season when that colour, never abun¬ 
dant, is peculiarly rare in gardens. It has been received from 
Mr. Fortune, who sent it from China to the Horticultural Society, 
in whose garden it flowered in October last. It grows wild in 
the neighbourhood of Canton, and Mr. Fortune found it in 
Chusan and at Koo-lung-soo. It is a greenhouse plant, which 
appears to grow freely in a mixture of rough sandy loam and 
peat, and, like other soft wooded plants, requires plenty of pot 
room. During summer an ample supply of water should be 
given to its root, and it may be syringed over head once or twice 
a day ; but in consequence of its flowering in autumn, syringing 
should be discontinued as soon as the flower buds are formed, 
otherwise they will be liable to damp off. In winter very little 
water is required, nor is it necessary to apply fire heat, except to 
