THE FLORAL WORLD AND GARDEN GUIDE. 149 



time up to the following March from 50" to 65'. This appears to be 

 allowing a wide latitude for the range of the temperature, but it is 

 not so great as the first glance would lead one to suppose. At or 

 about 50' of Fahrenheit is the height at which the glass should 

 stand in midwinter and particularly sharp weather, and 65' is the 

 temperature for the commencement and termination of that season. 

 It must not for a moment be supposed that I advise the heat to 

 fluctuate to such an extent in one day, or that it can be allowed to 

 do so without resulting in a certain amount of injury to the plants. 

 Eor the cool palms the thermometer should stand at about 45" 

 through the winter ; a few degrees either way is of no importance. 

 To allow as wide a range as I can, I will say keep it between 40' and 

 50', then there will be no fear of anything going wrong. It is next 

 to impossible to fix any specific degree at which the temperature 

 ought to be maintained through the summer. Besides, it would be 

 of no practical service were I to do so, for the heat of our summers 

 will be quite sufiicieut for them. It will be of very great advantage 

 to them if they receive a little encouragement in the way of artificial 

 heat for a month or six weeks in the spring, to assist the develop- 

 ment of the new growth ; it w^ill enable them to complete it early in 

 the summer, and get thoroughly matured before the winter sets in. 

 I hope this last observation will not deter any one from entering upon 

 their culture that have no heat, for they will do ver}' well without such 

 assistance, and I should never trouble about it unless I had plenty of 

 room. 



AVateeijS'G. — The amount of water which each plant will require 

 depends upon whether the plant is in good health, and the pot full 

 of roots ; for a plant that has outgrown its pot, and exhausted the 

 soil in which it is grown, will require double the quantity one would 

 that has not filled the pot with roots. But speaking generally (and 

 that is all I can do), the whole of the plants will require plenty of 

 moisture at the roots wlien making new growth, and to be sparingly 

 watered through the winter, when they are at rest. The stove kinds 

 should have a moderate amount of atmospheric moisture through 

 the summer, and be syringed overhead in the same way as the other 

 plants. The cool kinds will not require the same amount of sy- 

 ringing as the others, but a thorough washing overhead occasionally 

 will be beneficial in keeping the foliage free from dust, etc. 



As a rule, we have nothing to do in respect of seeds beyond 

 advising readers what sorts to buy. But when we talk of sowing 

 seeds of palms it is almost a mockery, unless we add a word about 

 obtaining them ; for not one seedsman in a thousand in all England 

 ever sold, or even saw, a palm-seed. Therefore on this occasion I 

 feel it my duty to recommend that, unless the reader intending to 

 raise palms from seed knows how to obtain the seeds without my 

 help, he would do well to apply to Messrs. James Carter and Co., of 

 High Holborn, or Messrs. Hooper and Co., Central Avenue, Covent 

 Garden ; botli these firms occasionally import palm-seeds. The only 

 species advertised by these firms in the form of seeds are Chamcerops 

 huDiilis, and Acanlhophanix crinita, two of the finest palms in 

 cultivation. 



