THE FLORAL WORLD AND GARDEN GUIDE. 



107 



the purpose of determining what 

 might be done with them in the ab- 

 sence of the usual aids to the deve- 

 lopment of flowers of tender ama- 

 ranths. The result proved that these 

 elegant plants do not need stove 

 treatment, and in fact, for all ordi- 

 nary purposes of decoration, were 

 not to be considered as in any way 

 more tender than our favourite old 

 border annual Love Lies Bleeding. 

 We return to this subject for the pur- 

 pose of recommending the culture of 

 these new Celosias for out-door deco- 

 ration, for which they are admirably 

 suited, provided they are brought for- 

 ward under glass with care, expressly 

 for the purpose of making a special 

 effect among bedders, or for the 

 adornment of the terrace or wood- 

 land walk. We very much fear that 

 that most graceful of promenade 

 plants, Humea elegans, will be put 

 quite in the shade when these plu- 

 mous cockscombs have been fairly 

 tried ; for these provide similar 

 feathery plumes of crimson and scar- 

 let, and have the advantage of an 

 ample and elegant foliage, which 

 Humeas invariably lack when they 

 arrive at their full perfection. But 

 we have no wish to disparage Humea 

 elegans ; it is a gem in its way, and 

 will never quit the gardens where it 

 has once made itself a favourite. To 

 make the best use of these Celosias 

 for garden use, the present is the best 

 time to sow, because it is not desir- 



able to have the plants in too forward 

 a state. It would be next to murder 

 to put them out of doors before June, 

 but then it may be done with perfect 

 safety. It would not be difficult to 

 make a very long and elaborate essay 

 on the subject: but as there is no 

 need for it, we content ourselves with 

 advising the cultivator to sow thinly 

 in pans filled with a mixture of rotten 

 dung, leaf-mould, and peat dust; to 

 place the pans on a dung-bed, and 

 cover them with squares of glass ; 

 and when the seedlings are large 

 enough to handle, to pot them singly 

 into 60-sized pots, filled with loam 

 from rotted turf, rotten dung, and 

 leaf-mould, equal parts of each, and 

 to replace them in a moist heat of 65" 

 to 70°, and as soon as they start 

 away, to water liberally and shift 

 again when needful to 48-sized pots. 

 In these pots they will soon show 

 bloom, and if kept moderately close, 

 the spikes will acquire a great size, 

 and there will be a fine mass of foliage 

 to the rims of the pots. On the 1st 

 of June, or soon after, they should be 

 taken to a cool house for a week, then 

 to a pit, where they are to be covered 

 only at night, for a few days ; and 

 they may then end their pilgrimage 

 by being turned out into vases, bas- 

 kets, or beds ; and there can be no 

 confusion as to their colours, for they 

 will all show what they are and in- 

 tend to be for the rest of the season. 



[Written to appear in April.] 



KEEPING AND KILLING WINDOW ELOWEKS. 



Howeveb free from dust or injurious 

 exhalations the atmosphere of a room 

 or small conservatory may be, the 

 plants kept there require as much air 

 as the temperature and other circum- 

 stances will admit of. Even in the 

 depth of winter, we have occasional 

 warm sunny days, when, if only for 

 an hour at noon, the windows should 

 be opened, and the fresh air allowed 

 to play amongst the foliage ; and at 

 other seasons air should be given 

 regularly, as a matter of course. 

 Too often window plants get air only 



by accident, and the consequence is 

 that they get weak and spindling ; 

 their blooms fall in the bud, the 

 leaves turn yellow, and then insects 

 appear to prey upon their unhealthy 

 juices. But certain precautions are 

 necessary. Cold draughts are gene- 

 rally injurious; a whistling east wind, 

 that would cause an attack of tooth- 

 ache to the cultivator, will not be 

 likely to benefit any rather tender 

 plant, especially if it has been pre- 

 viously kept in a warm temperature. 

 So, also, an intenselv hot sunshine 

 f 2 



