LESCHENAULTIAS. 
127 
the sashes back morning and evening, drawing them on again at 
night, and at noon, when the sun shone hot, they were tilted 
back and front, and covered with a thin shade. 
All my subsequent experience fully bore out the correctness of 
the principles I had determined to start with; light, pure and 
uninterrupted, is most essential, with only the slightest shade 
tliat can be employed to break off the fiercest rays of the sun in 
summer, and proportioning the admission of air to the supply 
of light; they were never closely shut up, except in winter, when 
positively necessary. Some cultivators advise a gentle heat, as 
that of a vinery just starting, for growing these plants, but 1 
found it, at least, unnecessary, and cannot help believing it to 
be rather injurious than otherwise; my observations and in¬ 
quiries tending to establish a connexion between such treatment 
and the sudden deaths, which, unfortunately, but too often 
occur among large specimens. 
Water, of course, exercises a great influence, and much care 
is required in its application; it is difficult to describe the varia¬ 
tions which are sure to arise in the proper quantity, dependent 
on the progress of the plant, the kind of soil, or the state of 
the atmosphere, all of which have to be considered, each time 
the soil is moistened: in a general way, I am decidedly in favour 
of a thorough soaking; but then it must only be given when 
wanted, it will not do to saturate the roots at stated intervals 
without regarding their condition. A complete knowledge of this 
subject is to be gained only by experience, and should, therefore, 
be trusted only to practised hands: an idea, and generally a 
correct one, may be gained of the state of the soil by sounding 
the pot; a smart rap on the sides with the knuckles will produce 
from a dry pot a ringing sound, which is absent if the interior 
is wet; this, however, is not to be implicitly trusted when they 
have been in use for any length of time. In the summer, and 
when actively growing, the plants require a sufficient quantity to 
wet the soil thoroughly, at least every day, and the nigher the 
roots are to the sides of the pots, the more often will it be ne¬ 
cessary to water them in the winter, a moderate application, 
once a week, will generally be sufficient. 
The plants before mentioned were placed out of doors from 
the end of August till the middle of September, to give them an 
opportunity to ripen the new wood, which by this time had 
