THE FLORAL WORLD AND GARDEN GUIDE. 147 



Raisino Palms from Seed. — By way of making a beginning, 

 it wilJ be best for me to say, that for the first year or so the whole 

 of the palms ought to have the assistance of a stove temperature ; 

 but that can generally be afforded them, for there are but very few 

 people who do not grow a few melons and cucumbers, and by a little 

 contrivance sufficient space can be found in one corner for the seed- 

 pots and the young plants after they are potted off. March is a 

 good time for sowing the seed, but that time is past. There need 

 be no fear of failure if the seeds are got in at once, for the plants 

 will get stout and strong enough to stand the winter in the green- 

 house, if they are placed in a snug corner, and are not injured 

 through having too much water. This remark applies to the green- 

 house kinds only, for where there is a stove, the seed can be sown 

 at any time with reasonable hope of success, though the best time 

 is the spring ; and, in that case, I should advise the greenhouse 

 kinds to be grown, for the first year, with those requiring stove heat. 

 The pots should be prepared by putting a couple of inches of drainage 

 in the bottom, and then filled up to within half an inch of the rim 

 with a compost consisting of peat, loam, and leaf-mould, in equal 

 quantities. The seed should be sown upon the surface of this, and 

 covered with half an inch of chopped moss or leaf-mould. It is of 

 no consequence which is employed ; and then, after the pots have 

 had a moderate watering, they should be plunged in a hotbed of 

 about 75^; or the pots can be placed upon the pipes or flues of 

 a vinery until they germinate ; or, in fact, anywhere else, if suffi- 

 ciently warm and moist. After the young plants begin to grow, the 

 pots must be removed, for fear of the soil getting too dry and hot 

 for the young and tender roots. Tlie soil must be kept just moist, 

 and not saturated, or you will lose three parts of the seed. When 

 the plants are large enough, pot off into small pots, using the same 

 soil as advised for sowing the seed, with the addition of a liberal 

 proportion of silver sand; make the soil the same temperature as the 

 bottom-heat previous to using it. The young plants ought to be 

 potted in the house in which they are growing, for it gives them a 

 check from which they are a long time recovering, when taken out 

 of a high temperature to the cold potting-shed. This operation 

 must be performed with care, so as not to break the roots about. 

 It is also advisable to return the plants to the bottom-heat, if it can 

 be managed without interfering with other things of more im- 

 portance. In raising plants of the cocoa-nut palm {Cocos niicifera)^ 

 the nuts should be sown singly, and just covered with the same kind 

 of material as the others ; and then, when they vegetate and fill 

 the pots with roots, they can be potted on without disturbing the 

 roots. This brings us to the 



MAiJfAGEMETfT OF Youi^G Palms. — This can be summed up in 

 a few words, as the palms are, as I have already observed, very easy 

 to manage, for they require no special treatment. Those kinds 

 which are sufficiently hardy to grow and do well in a cool tempera- 

 ture, should be grown on in a warm house until they get a good 

 size — for warmth will not hurt them — and then they can be har- 

 dened off to bear the conservatory temperature. This ia supposing 



