seeds, unless they are imported from abroad, in which case some should be sown immediately, whatever season it may be when they arrive; for sometimes seeds will grow when first received, which will not if kept a few months longer. The remainder may be sown with your own collected ones, and spring sowing is always preferable; for the plant becomes strong to stand the succeeding winter. Pots of five inches diameter, and three and a-half inches deep, with plenty of potsherds, should be prepared previous to sowing, with a compost composed of two-thirds peat and one-third loam, well mixed together. In preparing the pots for sowing the seeds in, a large piece of broken pot, or oyster shell, should first be placed over the hole in the bottom of the pot; over this should be put an inch thick of finely-broken potsherds, to drain off the superabundant moisture from the seed; then fill the pot with coarsely screened compost (made as above directed), from an inch to a quarter of an inch from the top, according to the largeness or smallness of the seeds. The surface on which the seeds are sown, as well as the covering soil, should be sifted very fine. After the seeds are sown, cover them with soil to the top of the pot, and give them a gentle watering from a fine rose watering-can. The pots must now be plunged up to their rims in saw-dust in a previously prepared hot-bed, when the burning heat is over. Keep the frame-lights quite close, except allowing, in the middle of the day, a little for steam arising from the bed to pass off till the plants begin to appear. Due care must be taken to allow a supply of water when required. As soon as the rudiments of the second leaf are formed they must be removed to a shaded part of the stove, there to remain till the second leaf is perfectly formed, and the rudiment of the third leaf is perceived, when they must be carefully potted off in small thumb pots, in composts, according to their nature, and again placed in a sheltered place till they have taken root, when they may be finally but gradually exposed to their respective departments. The sooner seedlings are potted off the better, as they do not miss their moving when potted young. I should have observed that if hot sunny weather should occur (as is often the case) while they are in the hot-bed frames, they should be shaded in the middle of the day by means of mats.

2. Cuttings. Most exotics will increase by this mode of propagation, and many of them by young cuttings a little hardened; some by ripened ones, and a few by means of very young ones.

When it

is desired to propagate any particular kind by cuttings, an old shabby plant should be picked out for the purpose; and if an inhabitant of the greenhouse, taken about Christmas into the stove, that it may produce its young shoots early; and when grown to a sufficient length (say from one and a half to two inches), taken back to its own department to harden a little, and ripened more or less, as required. From Christmas to the end of April is the best time to increase by cuttings, as then the plants can root, and be potted off, in time to stand the winter season with success; but it sometimes happens that the desired kinds are late before they produce fitting shoots, especially those that strike best from fully ripened cuttings; these must, however, be put in when arrived at a proper state, and if they do not happen to have rooted sufficiently for potting till late in autumn, it would be best to defer potting them off in separate pots till early the following spring, but this must be left to the judgment of the propa gator, as many kinds are apt to become wing-rooted, if left too long before they are potted off. Previous to commencing the operation, a sufficient quantity of pots (same size as recommended for seedlings), must be prepared after the following manner :-After a large piece of broken pot and potsherds have been put into the pot as already directed, fill it level with the top with fine clear sand in a moist state, and made as firm as it possibly can be with the hand, to exclude as much air as possible from the base of the cutting. In preparing the cuttings, care must be taken not to take any more leaves off than are requisite; for the more leaves a cutting has on it the sooner it will root. The shallower cuttings are put in, so as they are well fastened, the better they will root; for if planted deep, they are more likely to rot or damp off. The part planted in the sand should have its leaves taken off as close to the stem as possible without injuring it. From half an inch to an inch and a quarter may be considered the medium length to be inserted. Ericas, Epacris, Diosmas, Brunias, and all such fine-leaved delicate kinds, should be planted no deeper than absolutely necessary; but cuttings of Pittosporum, Pomederris, and such like hardy-leaved woody kinds, may be put in a little deeper. After the cuttings are prepared, and well fastened in the pots of sand, give a gentle watering; and when the moisture has dried off the leaves of the cuttings, place the bell-glass over them, and remove them to their respective situations-the stove kinds to a moist heat, plunged in a bark or dung bed; the greenhouse kinds to the front

shelves in the greenhouse. The bell-glasses must all be shaded when the sun is powerful, by means of white-brown paper; and every morning they must be regularly wiped, or the moisture accumulating on the sides of the glass will cause the cuttings to turn mouldy, and eventually die off, even after they are rooted. Water must only be given when the top sand is become dry, and then a sufficient quantity must be given in a morning, so as to reach the bottom part of the sand. At the end of June the greenhouse kinds must be removed out of the house, and plunged in a shaded dry border till the following September, (when such as remain unstruck, if any, must be taken back to their former residence.) When they are plunged, they must be defended from rains by means of hand-glasses, each covering four or five pots with their bell-glasses. When the cuttings are rooted, the sooner they are potted off the better, in as small pots as they can be safely got into; for if too long, the sand is apt to injure the roots. When they are first potted, they should be kept under a close glass for a few days, and shaded with a mat till they have taken fresh root, and then hardened to the open air by degrees. If the young plants are drawn up too slender, their tops must be pinched off, to make them grow bushy. Those kinds that require heat must remain plunged in a hotbed till they are struck, and not be put into the open ground, as directed for those that require no heat. Soft-wooded kinds and herbaceous ones will not strike well in sand, and must therefore be planted in light mould. Geraniums may be struck in the open ground, covered with a hand-glass, all the summer months; but, where a large quantity are required, the best time is September. A slight hotbed, with a surface of six inches of light rich soil, and covered with a one-light frame, will strike them very well at this Some plants, as Aloysia cytriodora, &c., will not strike freely from cuttings, unless the two bottom joints are cut through in a transverse direction. It is a very erroneous opinion, entertained by some people, to think that a plant can only be preserved a few years by cuttings, and that it is only by seed that a plant can be raised so as to be propagated successively for ages. For myself, I should never be afraid of losing any plant after having once got it to thrive, and succeeded in propagating it by cuttings.

season.

In my next article I will give instructions of increase by means of offsets and the various plant-divisions.

VOL. XIV. No. 155.

B

PART II.

MISCELLANY

OF

NOTES AND CORRESPONDENCE.

New and Rare Plants.

ANEMONE JAPONICA. JAPAN ANEMONE. (Bot. Reg. 66.) Ranunculacea. Polyandria Polygynia. A native of Shanghae, the Japanese port of China. It was sent by Mr. Fortune to the London Horticultural Society. It has bloomed in the greenhouse in the Chiswick garden the past autumn. The flower stems rise about two feet high, bearing numerous very showy blossoms. Each flower is about three inches across, of a very rich purple, crimson and rose shades, with a yellow disk of stamens, much the appearance of a semi-double Dahlia. It inhabits damp woods on the edges of rivulets, on the Kifune Mountain near the city of Miako in Japan. Dr. Siebold says that it grows too at considerable elevations on the mountains of the centre of Japan, and that it is much culti vated by the inhabitants for the sake of its very beautiful blossoms. It is expected to be quite suited to the open border during summer, and probably endures winter too. It increases by offsets. It merits a place in every greenhouse or flower-garden.

ANTHOCERCIS ILLICIFOLIA. HOLLY-LEAVED. (Bot. Mag. 4200.) Scrophularineæ. Didynamia Angiospermia. A native of the Swan River Colony, where it grows on river banks. It has bloomed in the Glasnevin Botanic Garden, Dublin. It requires a warm greenhouse in winter, but a cooler situation in summer. The root is perennial; the stems woody at the base, growing to five feet high, copiously branched. The flowers are bell-shaped, with a five parted limb. The corolla yellow, the tube bell-shaped, greenish lines outside, but within marked with deep blood-coloured ones. Each blossom is about half an inch long, and three-quarters of an inch across. The plant blooms very profuse, and has a very interesting appearance; and as by pinching the ends of the shoots lateral ones are produced, the plant may readily be made bushy, and be brought into desirable limits.

CAMPANULA SYLVATICA. WOOD BELL FLOWER. (Pax. Mag. Bot.) Campanulaceæ. Pentandria Monogynia. A native of Nepal, where it inhabits moist and shady places. It is a dwarf growing plant, annual. The flowers are about the size of the common way-side Bell flower of our own country, but stand erect, and are more spreading at the mouth. They are of a rich deep blue with a white eye. It makes a beautiful showy border plant. J. Allcard, Esq., of Stratford Green, in Essex, has it in profusion.

CYMBIDIUM GIGANTEUM. THE GIGANTIC. Orchidaceæ. Gynandria Monandria. A native of Nepal. Mr. Gibson sent it to the collection at Chatsworth. The flowers are produced in nodding spikes of about two feet long. Each flower is three inches across. Sepals and petals green streaked with brown and red. Lip yellow with rich red spots around it, but the margin is white. It is a very fine and interesting species.

EVOLVULUS PURPUREA-CORULEUS. PURPLE-BLUE FLOWERED. (Bot. Mag. 4202.) Convolvulaceae. Pentandria Digynia. A very neat half-shrubby plant, twiggy, grows about two feet high, perennial, producing a profusion of lovely flowers, of the most intense blue colour with a white and red star-like eye. Each flower is about half an inch across. It inhabits rocks near the sea in Jamaica. It bloomed beautifully the past summer in the plant-stove at Kew. It is worthy a place in every garden.

GOVENIA FASCIATA, LINDEN'S GOVENIA. (Bot. Reg. 67.) Orchidacea Gynandria Monandria. It is a native of the northern district of South America in Venezuela, in damp forests. The flowers are produced in an erect spike. A clear yellow marked with crimson bands. Each blossom is near two inches across. It is in the collection of Mr. Rucker, at Wandsworth.

HABROTHAMNUS CORYMBOSUS. CORYMB-FLOWERED. Solaneæ. Pentandria Monogynia. (Bot. Mag. 4201.) A native of Mexico, sent by Mr. Low, of Clapton Nursery, to the Royal Gardens at Kew. It is a vigorous shrub, growing about five feet high, erect, and numerously branched. The flowers are produced in large terminal corymbose heads. The blossoms are tube formed, each an inch long, and a five parted limb about three-quarters of an inch across. It requires to be grown in a greenhouse in winter, but does best in summer in the open air. The fine heads of rich rose coloured flowers have a very showy and beautiful appearance.

LELIA PEDUNCULARIS. LONG STALKED. (Bot. Reg. 69.) Orchideæ. Gynandria Monandria. A native of Mexico. In the collection of G. Barker, Esq. Each flower is about three inches across, of a pretty lilac-rose colour, the lower part of the labellum being stained with dark crimson.

OXALIS SENSITIVA. SENSITIVE WOOD SORREL. (Bot. Reg. 68.) Oxalidaceæ. Decandria Pentagynia. It is a very little pretty annual plant from the East Indies. It is found wild in all the tropics of Asia. The leaves are like the common Humble plant, and in their native country, it is said, are so sensitive that they cannot bear the wind to blow upon them, or even that they should be breathed upon, for the least irritation they close up. The flowers are yellow, each about half an inch across.

REEVESIA THYRSOIDEA. THYRSE FLOWERED. (Bot. Mag. 4199.) Sterculiaceæ. Monandria Polyandria. A native of China, and is grown in the plant stove at Kew. It is a shrub growing about a yard high, branching. The flowers are produced in terminating corymbs, white with a tinge of cream colour. It is a very interesting plant. Each blossom is tube formed, near an inch long, and a five parted limb half an inch across.

RHYNCHOGLOSSUM ZEYLANICUM. THE CEYLONESE. (Bot. Mag. 4198.) A lovely little plant, growing a foot high, from Ceylon, annual or biennial. Flowers small, in long leafy racemes. Each blossom is tube-formed, half an inch long, blue on the upper side and nearly white beneath.

RUELLIA LILACINA. LILAC FLOWERED. (Pax. Mag. Bot.) Acanthaceæ. Didynamia Angiospermia. (Synonym Justicia glabrata.) An evergreen stove shrub, growing about two feet high. It blooms through the winter. The flowers are larger than those of the well-known beautiful R. formosa, something like a bloom of the common Indian Azalea phoenicea. It deserves a place in every hot-house. It is in the collection of Messrs. Rollisson's.

STANHOPEA INODORA. THE SCENTLESS. (Bot. Reg. 65.) Orchideæ. Gynandria Monandria. From Mexico. It is in the collection of Messrs. Loddiges. Sepals and petals straw coloured. Lip at the base a rich Apricot red colour, other portions pale yellow. Each flower is four inches across.

VERONICA LINDLEYANA. DR. Lindley's SPEEDWELL. Sent from New Zealand to the Edinburgh Botanic Garden, where it has bloomed in the greenhouse. It is an evergreen under shrub, producing numerous pendant spikes of white flowers, each spike being from four to six inches long. It is an elegant plant.

NOTICED IN BOTANICAL REGISTER, BUT NOT FIGUred.

IRIS STYLOSA. Grows very extensively on the mountains of Corfu and Santa Maura, where, it is said, the mountains are in a blaze of blue from its flowers in January or February. Its leaves are about a quarter of an inch wide, spreading in a flat tuft, its large gaudy flowers supported, like those of the Crocus, by a long tube of five or six inches long. It has not yet bloomed in this country.