232 
DESCRIPTIVE LIST OF NEW PLANTS. 
believe the taste for this interesting amusement is rapidly extend¬ 
ing, must have felt equally the necessity of some support for their 
succulent stems, and the cumbrous unhandy character of those 
usually employed. They are certainly supporters of the glass, 
but render the plant very little assistance, for in the majority 
there is abundant space for a full display of all the erratic pro¬ 
pensities of the plant, which is too frequently seen inclining so 
far from an upright position, as to destroy completely the neatly 
tasteful appearance so much to be desired. 
How far Mr. Hamilton has succeeded in improving on the old 
forms, will be best estimated from a description of the one he now 
offers to the notice of lovers of these elegant spring flowers ; the 
charge of cumbrousness, it must be conceded, is entirely removed, 
for nothing can be lighter in appearance, and we presume, from 
the simplicity of the design, he will be able to supply them at a 
considerable reduction on the old prices. Perpendicular wires 
pass from the inside of the glass upwards to the height of the 
plant, they are maintained in their places by rings, forming in the 
neck of the glass a seat for the bulb, which is thus kept erect, and 
above them are other rings, which may be moved upwards as the 
plant advances in growth ; in the old plan the supporting wires 
are all fixtures, so that they cannot be adapted to the changes of 
either leaves or flowers. Here, however, the traversing ring, by 
following the development of both, keeps them always in a proper 
position. The appearance we consider to be much improved 
because less obstrusive, and there can be no doubt of an increased 
convenience in the little manipulations necessary during the 
progress of the plant, such as changing the water, &c., as the 
glass, hyacinth, and its support may be all turned over together 
with the greatest facility. 
DESCRIPTIVE LIST OF NEW PLANTS. 
Cacte^e. —Icosandria Monogynia. 
Leuchtenbergia principis (Hooker). Few persons, we think, 
on viewing this plant when destitute of flower, would imagine it to 
belong to the Cactece. The mammillae have rather the appearance 
of the leaves of some aloid plant, while the stem, looking as if 
formed of the persistent bases of old leaves, resembles that of 
some Cycadece. The blossom, however, if nothing else does, 
