50 MISSOURI BOTANICAL GARDEN BULLETIN 
Gloxinia, botanically speaking, but belonged to another 
genus in the same family, namely, Sinningia. The name 
gloxinia had become too well fixed among growers to be 
changed, however, and consequently there exists the peculiar 
condition of a plant bearing what is supposed to be its 
botanical name, but which in reality is only a common name 
derived from a botanical name, erroneously applied. In all 
probability these plants will continue to be known as glox- 
inias, but if one wishes to refer to them under the genus to 
which they belong, the name Sinningia should be used. 
During the last ten years gloxinias have been wonderfully 
developed by various growers. Flowers now range from 
ure white, pink, and pale blue to deep red and purple. 
he newer French, spotted hybrids, though less robust in 
habit and with more delicate flowers, are a valuable addi- 
tion to the older types. These are marked and spotted with 
colors varying from pink and mauve to dark blue, red, and 
even chocolate. — 
The cultivation of gloxinias is not so simple as that of 
calceolarias, but anyone with a warm greenhouse or even @ 
hot bed at their disposal, by selecting good seed and follow- 
ing the hints given below should be Fie to produce a bril- 
liant — of blooms within seven or eight months after 
sowing the seed. It is best to sow the seed in mid-winter 
in deep, well-drained pans filled with a mixture of rich soil 
and sand. The pans should be kept at a temperature of 
about 75°F., and may be covered with glass until the seed- 
lings appear. Great care should be taken to turn the glass 
night and morning as gloxinias are especially liable to 
“damp off” in too moist an atmosphere. As soon as the 
first leaves develop, the plants should be pricked off into 
shallow pans or pots, and when the seedlings are established 
they may be removed from the hot -bed into a fairly moist 
atmosphere at 65-70°F. When large enough to handle 
easily, the seedlings must again be transplanted into a soil 
as fibrous and porous as possible, peat, sand and leaf mold 
making a good combination. Careful watering is most 
important at this stage. If possible, the water should be 
slightly warmer than the air of the house and moreover 
should never be applied unless really necessary. The at- 
mosphere, however, should always be moist, and the leaves 
may be lightly sprayed night and morning. 
In the final potting—this time into six or ae 
pots—a mixture of equal parts of peat, leaf mold, clay, 
and sand should be used, and the soil ought not to be colder 
than the house atmosphere. The plants should be kept at 
a temperature of from 65 to 70°%,, never less than 60°, 
