THE FLORAL WORLD AND GARDEN GUIDE. 



173 



foliage. In August the bulbs may be 

 separated, and planted three in a 

 nine-inch pot. 



Climbers. — The following are a 

 few of the most useful : — Abutilon 

 striatum, Acacia dealbata, A. vestita, 

 Akebia quinata, Bignonia capensis, 



B. capreolata, B jasminoides. Brachy- 

 sema hybrida, Cissus antarctica, Cle- 

 matis iudivitsa lobata, Cobtea scandens, 



C. scandens variegata, Convolvulus 

 canariense, Dolichos lignosus, Fagelia 



bituminosa, Gelsemium sempervirens, 

 Hibbertiadentata, H. grossulariaefolia, 

 H. volubilis, Jasuiinum azoricum, J. 

 granditlorum, Kennedy a coccinea, K. 

 inophylla floribunda (and several 

 others), Lapageria roRea, Passiflora 

 caerulea, P. edulis. Plumbago capen- 

 sis, Pylogine suavis, Rhyncospermum 

 jasminoides, Sollya heterophylla, 

 Tacsonia ignea, etc. 



H. Howlett. 



THE POLYANTHUS. 



Raising Seedlings. — The poly- 

 anthus grower may be supposed to 

 have in his possession now a tew pods 

 of ripe seed. What shall he do with 

 it? I say sow it directly, say within 

 an hour of having read this. The 

 best mode of procedure is to till large 

 pans or boxes with a mixture of two 

 parts maiden loam, one part rotten 

 cow or horse-dung, one part leaf- 

 mould, and one part silver-sand. The 

 prudent cultivator will either bake or 

 boil the compost before sowing the 

 seeds. To bake it, place it in a hot 

 oven for a few hours. The easiest 

 way, however, is to boil it, as that is 

 accomplished by first tilling the pans 

 with the mixture, and then watering 

 it freely with boiling water, and when 

 the soil is cool sow the seeds. It is 

 very easy to say " sow the seeds." 

 The proper way to do it is to sprinkle 

 them thinly on the soil, and then 

 very lightly cover them with very 

 fine earth of any kind, enough to 

 hide them and no more. These seed- 

 pans ought not to require any more 

 water till the seedling plants are up, 

 and the proper place for them is a 

 cold frame facing the north, a sheet 

 of paper, or a tile or slate, or empty 

 pan laid over each, to prevent evapo- 

 ration, aud after ten days from the 

 date of sowing to be looked at daily, 

 and the moment the seedlings appear 

 remove the covering. But suppose 

 they do want water before the speeds 

 germinate, there's the rub ! Well, 

 if you fill a waier-pot and put on the 

 rose, and give the pans a good 



drenching, you will wash every seed 

 away, and make an end of your 

 troubles completely, for you will pro- 

 bably not see a single plant in any 

 pan which has been so operated on. 

 But there are more ways of killing 

 a dog, etc. The neat way to water 

 these seed-pans, and all other seed- 

 pans, is to quietly lower them into 

 a tub of water, and leave them there 

 till the soil is wetted through. Don't 

 drop them in carelessly, so that they 

 will be instantly submerged, or the 

 seeds will be floated up with the 

 rush of bubbles; but gently rest them 

 on empty pots, bricks, etc., so that 

 they are plunged to the rim, and no 

 deeper ; so that, in fact, the water 

 does not spread over the surface at 

 all. Now for a last word on this 

 subject. It is the one great secret of 

 raising seedling polyanthuses, auri- 

 culas, and a hundred other good 

 things. I am afraid to state it in a 

 few words in a book which is sold 

 for fourpence, because in value it is 

 above rubies ; but there is no alter- 

 native, and here goes. The soil in 

 the seed-pans should never be dry. If 

 it ever gets dry, you may expect that 

 some of the best seeds will perish. 

 You may, indeed, have plenty of 

 plants even if the seed-pans are very 

 carelessly treated, and are many times 

 dry before the plants appear. But I 

 repeat that dryness at any time is 

 sure to kill the best seeds, so those 

 who are most watchful are likely to 

 have the best seedlings out of a 

 batch. 



