"Let the plants be potted in turfy loam, to which an eighth part of leafmould has been added, potting firmly, and mingling the soil intimately with the roots from bottom to top, and putting it in by handfuls only, making it firm as the work proceeds.  As your plants have made growth during the voyage [sic], and are therefore somewhat susceptible to cold, let them stand in the greenhouse or a cold frame, the latter being preferable as it can be kept close, or nearly so, till growth at the root has begun.  Beware of hurrying the growth of shoots before the roots become active.  Subsequently stand the plants on a coal-ash bed, or plunge them wholly or in part in coal-ashes in a sunny spot, affording each plant plenty of room, so as to obtain robust foliage.  The previous year's shoots, and those of the current year, must be severely pinched, and shoots calculated to take the lead unduly must be suppressed, unless required to add to the width or grotesqueness of the plant.  In this case such shoots should be firmly fixed, point downwards, in the direction they are intended to take.  In general the plants with persistent foliage, such as Conifers, Azaleas, &c, are capable of enduring the winter climate of this country in the open air if plunged; still it is prudent to place them under cover, and protect from severe frost, but not in any way to coddle them.  Late spring frosts are injurious when the plants are not at rest, and should be guarded against.  In regard to manures, these should be of a very mild nature, such as those made from soaking a bag of decayed tree-leaves in a tub of water, or fine bone-meal in powder, which may be afforded twice a month from March to June.  The bone-meal should not exceed three teaspoonfuls at a time for a vase or pot of 1 foot diameter, and half a teaspoonful for one of 4 or 5 inches diameter.  We do not recognise the plant of which you send a leaf.  Your list contains the names of deciduous plants only.  You should obtain a little book entitled Les Arbres Naines Japonaises, by M. Albert Maumene; Paris: Librarie Horticole, 84 bis, Eue de Grenelle; or of Messrs. Williams & Norgate, 14, Henrietta Street, Covent Garden, London, W.C. 1

1     The Gardeners' Chronicle, No. 853, May 2, 1903, "Answers to Correspondents" section, pg. 288.