Plate 452. 



GLOXINIAS— MONS. VASCONIELLOS AND 

 MONS. BRONGNIART. 



To those who have the advantage of a warm greenhouse, 

 there is no flower that ought to be a greater favourite than tlie 

 Gloxinia; the length of time during whicli it remains in bloom, 

 the comparative ease of its culture, and the exceeding variety 

 and beauty of its many forms, claim for it a first place in the 

 regard of all lovers of greenhouse plants. 



In order to have such a succession of plants as may prolong 

 their blooming during the summer months, it will be necessary to 

 pot the tubers at three difierent periods ; say during the months 

 of January, February, and March : they delight in that soil which 

 suits so many plants, peat, loam, leaf mould, and well-rotted cow 

 manure. Two methods are adopted with regard to potting — 

 one is to j^lace them at once in the blooming pots, the other to 

 pot them in small pots and shift them on into larger ones ; for 

 the purpose of starting them, it is necessary to have a good 

 bottom heat, while afterwards, if they are to be grown to 

 perfection, they must have a temperature of not lower than 50° 

 at night. They may be bloomed, we know, in a lower one, 

 but they do not like it, the blooms are inferior, and the foliage 

 is apt to become rusty-looking. Care must be taken with 

 regard to watering and syringing, for although this latter is desi- 

 rable before coming into bloom, yet from the thick woolly 



