Amongst sweet-scented flowering-plants the Stephanotis still holds a prominent position, whether for the embellishment of ladies' hair or for bouquet-making; and as a plant for the exhibition-stage it has no equal. Its pure waxy-white flowers, and the fragrant perfume they possess, render it an attractive object in whatever way its ever-welcome flowers are used.

The Stephanotis is very free-flowering when under good cultivation, and deserves to be grown in every garden of any pretension. An erroneous idea is, however, entertained by some growers that this plant requires a strong moist heat to grow well and to produce flowers of first-rate quality. Under such cultivation the plant will grow with great rapidity, but the crop of flowers will only be moderate in comparison to the amount of growth made. Yet this rapid-growing system is not to be altogether condemned, especially if the aim of the grower is to get a young plant into as large a size as quickly as possible. Yet if flowers are the main object from the time the plant is in a very small state, the greatest return will be produced by growing the plant in an intermediate house, under the influence of light, sunshine, and abundance of air on all favourable occasions.

The Stephanotis enjoys a drier atmosphere to grow in than a great many plants. The blooms are produced from the young wood; and light and dry air are of real importance to solidify the growth as it is made. An abundant harvest of flowers will reward the cultivator if these conditions are strictly attended to.

The Stephanotis is a valuable climber in an intermediate or cool stove, and will ramble with great freedom over the roof. For exhibition purposes it can be taken down, if grown in a pot, and trained round a balloon trellis, or in any other shape that may be deemed necessary. When wanted for this purpose, the young shoots are best trained on small string, which can be cut down when ready to be placed on the trellis. They are very much inclined to curl round the string or wire, and are very liable to be broken when untwisting them. If grown in a very strong heat, not only is the blooming capacity of the plant rendered deficient, but it becomes a prey to insects, more particularly mealy-bug, if any exist in the house in which it is growing.

Propagation is effected by means of cuttings taken off soon after the plants have commenced to grow, and these strike freely plunged into a brisk bottom-heat. They are best inserted singly in small pots, using a mixture of peat and sand. When the cuttings are well rooted, and the roots have reached the side of the pots, they should be transferred into 3-inch pots, in a compost of two-thirds peat and one-third rich fibry loam, and with sufficient sand to make the whole porous. They should also be supplied with a small upright stake, and again returned to bottom-heat, and kept close until they begin to grow freely. While in this position the young plants will grow rapidly, and will soon be ready for larger pots; 6-inch pots will be the next suitable size. Three or four small stakes should be placed round the sides of the pot to train the young shoots to, unless the position affords an opportunity to train them underneath the roof.

If grown in a strong brisk heat, the young shoots will make exuberant growth, and may, as soon as they require another shift, be transferred into 9 or 10 inch pots. This size will be large enough the first season. Supposing the plants have been trained round stakes, they should now occupy a position near the glass, and must have their shoots trained out thinly to get the full benefit of light. By the end of the season they will have travelled a long way up the roof of a good-sized house. We might here say, if bloom is the object the second season, the plants, when well established in 9 or 10 inch pots, must be placed in a little cooler quarters, where they can receive plenty of light and sunshine, and a drier atmosphere than the one in which they have been growing during the summer.

The Stephanotis will winter safely in a temperature of 45° to 50°, provided the atmosphere is dry and the plant not too wet at the root. We are acquainted with a large plant "planted out" that is subjected to a much lower temperature than the one named in winter - although it starts slowly into growth in the spring, and its growth during the season is much shorter than if grown in a warm house. Nevertheless the plant under these circumstances produces every year an enormous quantity of its fragrant flowers. This plant is much more hardy than is supposed by many. To test its hardiness, we early last season moved a plant to a situation where we allowed the thermometer to fall on several occasions last winter to 33°, and allowed it to start again in the same amount of heat as an early peach-house when first started. The plant did not die with this severe treatment, but lost a great many leaves, and a quantity of the young wood died back. The plant in question was long in starting, but at last broke into growth, and commenced showing flowers from every joint, which were only about 1 inch apart.

We may safely recommend it as a conservatory climber where a moderate temperature is kept for seasonable flowering plants in winter - viz., 45° to 50°.

We do not recommend such a low temperature for a young plant unless, as has been said, bloom is the object. If, on the other hand, the young plant is kept in a stove-house all winter, and in February transferred into a size larger pot, using the same compost as before recommended, the first season's shoots should have the unripe ends cut off, and be laid horizontally to the right and left of the pot. By so doing, a young shoot will start from nearly every leaf, and cover a good space before the end of the season, if placed when potted in February in an 11 or a 12 inch pot. This size will be large enough for the season, if liberally supplied with weak manure-water when full of roots. The object now is abundance of bloom the following June or July, and the cultivator must get the wood thoroughly ripe before the dark days of winter set in, by allowing the plant abundance of light, which it should enjoy at all seasons, and more air, a drier atmosphere, and wintered as advised. When started again into growth at the commencement of the year, and the young shoots as they grow trained close to the glass, provided the plant is not excited with too much heat, but allowed to develop its shoots under favourable conditions, and a too close moist atmosphere avoided, - these few particulars attended to, the plant will not fail to produce its fragrant flowers in great profusion.

If required for exhibition purposes, the plant will stand retarding or bringing on rapidly, as the case may be. It is advisable, when required for this purpose, not to put them on the desired trellis too early - that is, until the flowers are well advanced; they can then be regularly arranged over the whole trellis.