SCARLET GERANIUMS. 
161 
It requires the temperature of the stove, with much the same 
general treatment as the various species of Gesnera : namely, to 
be potted in light, rich, vegetable mould, or a mixture of loam, 
peat, and sand.— Pax. Mag. Bot. 
AsteracexE. — Syngenesia Polygamia Superjlua. 
Mutisia ilicifolia. This plant is a neat-growing evergreen, 
with hard leaves like those of the holly,a creeping habit, and is a 
free flowerer. The mid-rib of the leaf continues in the form of a 
long tendril, slightly downy whilst young, but becoming glabrous 
when old; the peduncles are axillary, bearing a single, large, 
showy flower : the ray of which is formed of ten female florets, 
each composed of a long, slender tube, two-lipped, the lower lip 
ligulate, of a beautiful purple colour, the inner one small, cut 
into two narrow revolute segments; florets of the disk, tubular, 
yellow, five parted at the apex. 
Although its flowers are less showy than those of some other 
plants, yet being nearly hardy, of easy culture, forming a good 
evergreen cover against a wall, and not being liable to become 
naked at the bottom, are merits which ought not to be lost sight 
of. It is a native of Chili, whence it was introduced a few years 
ago by Messrs. Hugh Low and Son, of Clapton.— Pax. Mag. 
Bot. 
SCARLET GERANIUMS. 
I am much pleased to observe the increasing attention given 
to these brilliant flowering plants, than which none can be more 
effective either in the flower-garden or cultivated in pots. It 
would certainly be an uncalled-for labour to enter into the detail 
of the management of such plants ; but a brief comparison be¬ 
tween some of the leading sorts may be useful to beginners, 
together with such hints as seem particularly worthy of notice, 
regarding their preparation for the several purposes they are 
adapted for. The soil of my garden is naturally strong, and of 
an adhesive character, but, being assisted by large quantities of 
vegetable mould, has become ameliorated, and is now, in my 
opinion, well calculated to bring out the several distinguishing 
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