season, with the exception of the Early Ann, which are not injured by this fungus, and, although the fruit is too delicate for a market fruit, yet should be in every private collection.

I am not aware, that any preventive of the mildew has been discovered, which is applicable to common culture, and, therefore, it is desirable to avoid the culture of all the serrated varieties for which substitutes can be found.

Rochester, N. Y., March, 1849.

ART. V. On the Cultivation of Cape Heaths. By W. S. LEACH, Gardener to S. Rucker, Esq., Wandsworth, Surray, England. With Remarks. By the EDITOR.

THE heath, though acknowledged to be among the most beautiful and attractive of greenhouse plants, is rarely seen except in the collection of some ardent amateur cultivator: and even there it is rare to find well grown, healthy, and fine-shaped specimen. There seems to be such a general impression that it is next to impossible to raise the plants in any degree of perfection that, at the outset, those who have them make no effort to keep them in health and vigor. That they are more difficult to manage than some plants is true. But their culture, once understood, is as facile as that of a majority of greenhouse plants The character of their native climate, -the nature of the soil in which they thrive,-their habit of growth, and their season of flowering once known, there is nothing to prevent the amateur from possessing the finest specimens of this exquisite tribe.

Several excellent original articles have appeared in our previous volumes, both by professional and amateur cultivators, and the information which they have imparted, we doubt not, has been of great value, for the heath is now seen in much greater perfection than formerly. The capital paper by Mr. Towne, (Vol. V. p. 376,) was probably as full and minute in its details as any that could be written; and all who appreciate the heath will consult it and be aided by his advice. But, as we wish to place the opinions of all good cultivators before our readers, we are pleased in being able to do

so in the following paper by one of the most successful cultivators near London, which we copy from the Gardeners' Chronicle of a late date. The season is now at hand when the plants should be removed from their winter quarters, and Mr. Leach's remarks will consequently be read with greater interest.-Ed.

In the following statement, I shall endeavor to give the best method of cultivating these delightful plants, which no greenhouse should be without, for even in a very limited collection one or other may be had in flower the whole year round. Many are of opinion, that heaths will not thrive, intermixed with other plants; but this is a mistake: I know, from experience, that heaths will thrive as well in a greenhouse among other plants, as they would do in a heathery; in fact, some of the woolly-leaved kinds are the better for being kept a trifle closer than others; such are ferruginea, gemmifera major, splendens, Massoni, Templeæ, and others. I have, at present, specimens of ferruginea, ampullacea, Parmentieri rosea, and others, mixed with pelargoniums, fuchsias, azaleas, and other greenhouse stock, doing much better than I ever saw them do in the heathery, where air was more freely admitted. They, however, should be placed at the coolest end of the greenhouse.

The soil which I have found Cape heaths to thrive best in, (and I have tried several soils,) is a mixture of Wimbledon peat, and a much lighter kind of peat, from Croydon; when I cannot get the last-mentioned peat, I find well-decomposed leaf-mould to be an excellent substitute. Wimbledon peat, two parts; lighter peat, or leaf-mould, one; and one part of silver sand, is what I use: if silver sand cannot be obtained, coarse river sand will answer: the whole should be well knocked to pieces, and run through a 1 inch meshed sieve. I use the soil fresh from the common, where it is dug two inches deep, paring off the subsoil and the rough top. For shifting, any time from the beginning of February to the latter end of August will do. I have shifted them even as late as the beginning of October, and have found them to do equally well with those shifted earlier. This, however, is only mentioned to show, that no danger is to be apprehended from late shifting, in cases where such is found to be necessary.

I use plenty of drainage in all cases, especially for large plants, this being a sine qua non in heath culture. For the largest second and third sized pots, I use from three to four inches of clean drainage. In shifting, place the "collar" of the plant a little above the fresh soil, in order that no water may lodge round that part. I never touch the old ball, except to rub off a little of the surface soil, and to remove such of the crocks as do not interfere with the roots. After putting the crocks in the fresh pot, I place a layer of coarse siftings over them, and then I fill up to the required height with the above-mentioned compost, pressing it firmly with the hand as I proceed. The ball being placed as near the centre of the pot as possible, I then fill up with the compost, pressing it in firmly all round with my hands, for it is a bad practice to use a stick for this purpose; the latter injures the young fibres. I fill up to within an inch of the rim of the pot, for small plants, and two or three inches, for larger plants, smoothing down the surface, so as to cause it to slope gently to the side of the pot; this being done, I give the plant a good soaking with soft water, in order to wet the ball through, and then I place it in some shady situation (if shifted in summer) for a few days, being careful not to over-water it. Indeed, heaths require little water after shifting until they push fresh roots, when they may be more fully exposed.

All the free growing kinds of Cape heaths succeed best out of doors, in a not over-shaded place during summer; the slow growing sorts, as Massoni, Templeæ, pulcherrima, ferruginea, mutabilis, metulæflora, the tricolor varieties, &c., are best kept in the house, or in pits, always, however, bearing in mind, that the heath tribe requires plenty of air and little shade, except when fresh shifted. Should the ball prove dry when taken out of the pot in shifting, the best plan is, to place it in a vessel of water until it is soaked through, being careful to let the water drain thoroughly off, before placing it in its fresh quarters. I always give a liberal shift, if the plants are well rooted, say, from an eight-inch pot to a twelve or thirteen-inch pot, according to the nature of the variety. I prefer the "West Kent Pot" for heath culture, for its bottom being movable, there is no occasion to break the pot in shifting, which is unavoidable when the common pot is employed.

As soon as the plants are shifted, it is a good plan to peg down some of the lowermost branches, in order to hide as much of the soil as possible, and to keep the plant bushy. In hot and dry weather, I take a watering-pot, with a coarse rose, and well water the ground between the pots, a practice which I find to be better than wetting the plants overhead, which is apt to induce mildew, and, what is still worse, it causes the plants to lose all their inner foliage.

For mildew, the remedy experience has taught me to be the best, is, to dust the parts affected with sulphur, and to place the plants in a dry airy situation. The sulphur may remain one, two, or three days; it may then be brushed or blown off. When large specimens have done blooming, I take a pair of shears and clip them all over. The free growing sorts are then placed out of doors to make their growth and set their bloom; the slow growers are kept in doors, and are given plenty of air night and day. In housing the plants in autumn, they should never be allowed to touch one another, and, if possible, they should be elevated on pots or blocks, so that there may be a free ventilation of air among them.

Heaths require little water in winter; I make it a practice to rap the side of the pot, and, if it sounds hollow, I give water, carefully, however; for to give much water to such varieties as aristata, Hartnelli, Massoni, &c., would be sudden death to them; but, on the other hand, perspicua nana, Westphalingia, the ventricosas, &c., require it often, always giving enough at each watering to soak the whole mass of soil. I water early in the morning in winter, in order that the house may get dry before night. If the weather prove dull and cloudy, (which it often does at this season,) I fire gently during the day time, giving air, at the same time, at back and front. I, however, allow the pipes to cool before I close the house; for nothing is more injurious to heaths, or, indeed, any other plant, than a high night temperature. never fire at night, unless there are 120 or 14° of frost; 8° or 9o of frost will not injure Cape heaths, if the wood has been properly ripened in autumn. I have frequently had heaths frozen so hard that a knife would not penetrate the soil, and they have not received the least injury therefrom. Damp will do more mischief among heaths than frost.

I

By

following the above rules, I am satisfied that heaths may be grown from cuttings large enough for any exhibition, in less than three years.

The following varieties of Cape heath will keep a small heathery or greenhouse, gay throughout the whole year:

The following are fifty of the best varieties:-Mundula, physodes, splendens, Massoni, Easonii (Jackson's), taxifolia, aristata major, inflata rubra, Bandonii, Aitoni turgida, Devoniana, Dulcinea; propendens tubiflora, ventricosa grandiflora, fasciculata superb, Jacksonii, retorta major; vestita rosea, alba, coccinea; Templæa, princeps carnea, obbata (Pamplin), obbata (Veitch), tricolor Dunbariana, metulæflora, m. bicolor, Parmentieri rosea, ampullacea major, a. rubra, glauca, elegans, Sprengelii, tortilaflora, Hartnelli virens, ferruginea, Vernonii, gemmifera major, Savileana, togata, rubella, odorata, Lawrenceana, Swainsonii inflata, Julyana, delecta, aristata vittata, pulcherrima, tricolor Wilsonii, t. M'Nabiana.

ART. V.

Floricultural and Botanical Notices of New and Beautiful Plants figured in Foreign Periodicals; with Descriptions of those recently introduced to, or originated in American Gardens.

Anemone Japónica, hardy.—We are gratified to state, that the beautiful new anemone from Japan, of which we have given