170 



THE FLORAL WORLD AND GARDEN GUIDE. 



the shoots two or three times pre- 

 vious to the end of July, and then 

 tying them out nicely, will produce 

 very respectable plants, which will 

 only require protection while in 

 flower. 



Primula sinensis. — Sow seeds in 

 May, covering with a quarter of an 

 inch, of fine soil, and a piece of glass 

 over the pot. As soon as large 

 enough to handle, select the strongest. 

 and transplant five into a four-inch 

 pot, which must be again separated 

 and potted singly into four-inch pots 

 when they have attained to the 

 height of two inches. As they flower 

 best in rather small pots, they will 

 need no other shift but to be placed 

 out of doors from June to September, 

 having all blossoms that show them- 

 selves during that period removed; 

 as they are liable to damp off; water 

 cautiously in winter. Soil, peat and 

 loam. 



Cineraria. — Sow seeds, and treat 

 as the primula, until September, when 

 they must be shifted into seven-inch 

 pots, and taken to a liijht, airy shelf, 

 in the greenhouse. They are ex- 

 tremely impatient of frost, and sub- 

 ject to green -fly, which, if not 

 destroyed, will speedily ruin them. 

 After flowering, offsets may be taken 

 off", and treated as seedlings, and the 

 old plant thrown away as useless. 



Calceolarias. — The seeds of these 

 are extremely small ; therefore pre- 

 pare the pot for sowing them, by 

 ramming the soil very hard. Water 

 the soil before sowing the seeds, and 

 cover only with the piece of glass ; 

 for if covered with soil, they would 

 not get through. When they have 

 fairly vegetated, and the plants can 

 be removed in small clusters upon 

 the point of a knife, prepare other 

 pots to transplant the small patches 

 into : this will accelerate their growth, 

 and when large enough to handle, pot 

 single plants in the smallest pots, 

 keeping them up near the glass. All 

 througb the winter, repot as they 

 require it, until in spring they are 

 put into seven-inch pots, in which 

 they may flower. Stake out their 

 flower-stems before they get broken 

 down. Soil, peat and loam. 



Calceolarias, shrubby. — These 



strike best in autumn, out of doors, 

 in a shaded spot. When struck, pot 

 into three or four-inch pots, in which 

 they will stand until spring, when 

 they may have a good shift into the 

 pots they are to flower in. Give 

 liquid manure, and stop straggling 

 shoots by pinching, to regulate the 

 form of the plant ; but as they pro- 

 duce their flowers upon the points of 

 the young shoots, this must not be 

 carried to excess. 



Pelargoniums, or florists' gera- 

 niums. — Strike cuttings from the old 

 flowering shoots as soon as the plants 

 are out of flower ; put them round 

 the side of a pot ; give no water for a 

 few days, and place them on a shelf 

 in the sun ; for these cuttings are 

 impatient of moisture until they have 

 formed a callosity. If sufficiently 

 rooted in September, they may be 

 potted singly into three-inch pots, 

 kept in the warmest part of the house, 

 aud encouraged to grow. If nicely 

 established in March, they may be 

 put into five-inch pots, and have their 

 shoots pinched ; they will then make 

 nice little flowering plants. Alter 

 flowering, place out of doors to 

 harden, and in August cut well back, 

 so as to insure a dwarf, compact spe- 

 cimen. As soon as their new growth 

 begins, shake them out of their pots, 

 trim their roots, and repot in pots 

 the same size as those they came out 

 of, or smaller, if the plants are weak ; 

 place in a shaded spot, and water 

 overhead with a rose. In September, 

 remove- to au airy shelf in the green- 

 house for the winter, taking care to 

 water cautiously, and not to wet the 

 foliage, as water upon the leaves in 

 winter causes them to spot and turn 

 yellow. In February, shift from 

 tive-inch to seven or eight-inch pots, 

 according to the strength of the 

 plant, and place in the warmest and 

 lightest situation at command; pinch 

 their shoots till the end of April, after 

 which they must be allowed to run 

 up for flowering. When spproaching 

 the flowering period, use liquid ma- 

 nure. Soil, peat and loam. 



Horseshoe Geraniums. — Put in 

 cuttings in August ; place in front of 

 a wall exposed to the sun ; give no 

 water for a fortnight, after which 



