SPA 
former, the soil should be broken finely, 
but not sifted, being composed of the 
peat just mentioned, and at least half 
its quantity of silver sand. Prom the 
beginning of Pebruary to that of March 
is the best time either for potting or 
planting; if placed in pots they should 
be plunged into a cold frame, so as to 
secure the means of protection from 
frost and excessive wet; and the same 
is equally necessary if placed in the 
open ground; they should then be 
covered with a frame, or a thick layer 
of leaves, either of them to be removed 
or uncovered as soon as the plants 
begin to grow, or the foliage will be 
drawn up weakly. The frame has the 
advantage, because the lights can be 
taken off or replaced at pleasure after 
the plants have grown up. Abundance 
of air and water is requisite while the 
growth or flowering is progressing, but 
directly after blooming, water should be 
withheld, and the plants receive all the 
sunlight possible, in order to properly 
ripen their bulbs, which, when perfectly 
dry, may be taken up and preserved in 
bags till the next season. 
SPATHODEA (Beauvois.) Nat. 
Ord. Bignoniacees. Very handsome stove 
climbers, with showy flowers of various 
colours, red, yellow, or purple, being 
most common. Eor culture they may 
be referred to Bignonia. 
SPfLENOGYNE (R. Brown.) Nat. 
Ord. Composites. Greenhouse shrubs and 
hardy annuals compose this genus, all of 
them bearing showy yellow flowers. The 
first require the ordinary treatment of 
Cape plants, and the latter to be sown 
in tolerably rich ground, where they are 
required to bloom. Of these the best 
is the South American species, speciosa; 
the others are derived from the Cape of 
Good Hope. 
SPIREA (Linn.) Nat. Ord. Rosacees. 
A large genus of very ornamental hardy 
plants; the shrubby kinds are desirable 
among other plants of the same charac¬ 
ter, Avhere their pretty white or red 
flowers are very effective. Two recent 
additions in this class, S. Bouglassii and 
S. Lindlegi, are particularly beautiful; 
and the herbaceous portion is also useful 
STA 
s 
for filling up the fronts of the shrubbery 
borders; all of them grow freely in com¬ 
mon soil. 
SPRENGELIA (Saiith.) Nat. Ord. 
Bpacridacees. The only species, S. in- 
carnata, is a neat greenhouse plant, with 
rigid leaves and branches, bearing a great 
number of pretty pale pink flowers. It 
should be treated in the manner recom¬ 
mended for Epacris. 
STACHYS (Linn.) Nat. Ord. Labi¬ 
ates. The greater part of this genus is 
composed of hardy herbaceous plants, 
too coarse in the manner of growing to be 
interesting in a garden, and can only be 
tolerated in wide borders among shrubs. 
Two greenhouse species, however, de¬ 
serve to be grown for bedding out in 
summer; these are coccinea and inodora , 
both having red flowers, which they 
produce in great numbers; they grow 
rapidly in rich soil, and are easily kept 
among Heliotropes, Euchsias, and such 
plants, through the winter. 
STANHOPEA (Hooker.) Nat. Ord. 
Orclvidacea. The species of this very 
beautiful genus of epiphytes are re¬ 
markable, as well for then extraordinary 
flowers, curious in form and richly 
coloured, as for their singular habit of 
throwing the flower-stem, from the base 
of the pseudo-bulbs, in a downward 
direction. When first introduced the 
plants were placed in pots in the usual 
maimer, and were supposed to be diffi- 
cnlt to flower, until the accidental 
breaking of a pot exposed the flowers 
perishing in the soil beneath the plants. 
This circumstance led to the now pre¬ 
valent method of growing them in 
baskets, made of billets of wood, which, 
by being open at intervals, allows the 
spikes to protrude and display their 
loveliness. Baskets of about a foot and 
a half diameter are large enough for all 
ordinary specimens; they are made by 
cutting stakes of proportionate thick¬ 
ness to the required length, and after 
boring a small hole at each end, pass a 
wire up one angle to return down the 
opposite, thus two wires form the 
basket, and a handle by which it is sus¬ 
pended. It is not necessary to elevate- 
the plants much above the top of the 
