152 
THE ERICA. 
collections of Ericas would not have been so rich had it not been 
for the untiring perseverance of the late Mr. Rollisson of Tooting, 
Mr. Pamnlin of Hornsey, Mr. Willson of Chislehurst, and a few 
others. 
Now I am commenting on seedling Ericas, I would beg to 
caution against sowing the seed that is imported from the Cape, 
as not being worth the trouble you bestow on it. The seed 
is collected wholesale by the natives, and sold retail by a person 
at Cape Town, without any respect to the correctness of the 
sorts ; and they are, moreover, those kinds that seed very freely, 
and are totally worthless in this country, except in very large 
collections. I would, therefore, procure a few of the best kinds 
from a nurseryman, and try your fortune by saving the seed 
yourself. Erica seed being very small, care must be taken in 
raising it. The best plan I have found is to sow the seed in 
February, on the surface of silver sand, and sprinkle a small 
quantity of dry sand on the surface after the seed is sown; then 
water it freely, to settle the seed, and place a flat piece of glass 
on the top of the pot, then put a covering of moss on the glass, 
to keep the sun from scorching the seedlings, and, as they ger¬ 
minate, place the pot in a moderately warm house. When the 
seedlings are strong enough, prick them out in very sandy peat 
sifted very fine, place a bell-glass over them till they get strong 
enough to bear the sun, and then take the glass from them; 
treating them the same way as with plants reared from cuttings. 
I will now give you a list of a few of the best Ericas, in both 
classes, that I am acquainted with. I will here observe I could 
enumerate between 400 and 500 species and varieties; but as I 
am taking up much of your valuable time, I will confine myself 
to about fifty, which I consider indispensable to a gentleman’s 
establishment. 
Ventricosa Coccinea Minor 
Stellata 
Superb a 
Alba 
Bothwelliana 
Praegnans Coccinea 
Vestita Alba 
Coccinea 
Rosea 
Erica Tricolor Superba 
WiRsonii 
Elegans 
Dumosa 
