JULY. 143 



established, air may be given freely on favourable occasions, and 

 water, when necessary, judiciously but liberally supplied. During 

 the progress of growth any over-luxuriant shoots should be topped 

 and otherwise regulated, to preserve a compact form. When well 

 rooted a second shift may be given, say from a 6 to a 9-inch pot, 

 and the plants returned to their former quarters, where they should 

 remain until indications of rapid growth cease, when they may be 

 gradually hardened, and afterwards placed for a few weeks in a shel- 

 tered and shady place out-doors, where they can be conveniently 

 protected from heavy rains. 



By the first week of September the plants must be removed to 

 the greenhouse ; and during winter they should be kept in the 

 lightest and warmest part of the house. At that season care must 

 be taken to guard against excessive damp, drip, or over- watering, a 

 sufficiency only being given to keep the soil properly moist. In 

 the early part of March the plants may be placed in a warm house 

 or pit to encourage active growth. Presuming it is desirable to have 

 good specimens for flowering the following year, any appearance of 

 bloom should be stopped, and the plants shifted into pots of a size 

 proportionate to the wishes or convenience of the cultivator. I find 

 pots from 12 to 15 inches in diameter sufficiently large to produce 

 fine blooming plants. During this season the treatment before re- 

 commended should be attended to, and any stopping required done 

 early, as the flower-buds are produced on the terminal points of the 

 shoots. Having been wintered as before, early in spring the plants 

 may be placed in a warmer temperature, to assist the healthy develop- 

 ment of the flower-buds ; and when in bloom, which will be in June, 

 they can be removed to a warm part of the conservatory or other 

 situation, where their beautiful flowers will continue for some time 

 in perfection. 



After flowering, the plants may be repotted, and encouraged to 

 complete their growth as before. If very large examples are incon- 

 venient, the ball of soil may be carefully reduced so as to be repotted 

 in the same- sized pot. With attention to stopping and tying out 

 the shoots as required, the plants will continue in a healthy condition 

 for some years ; and when over-grown or straggling, they may be 

 thrown away, and their places supphed with younger stock. 



The propagation of this Pleroma is easily eff"ected by cuttings of 

 the young lateral or side- shoots, taken off' in the early part of sum- 

 mer, and inserted in silver-sand, in a well-drained pot, covered with 

 a bell-glass, and placed in a gentle bottom-heat. When well rooted 

 they should be potted off singly, and with due attention will make 

 nice plants for keeping through the winter. 



The soil I find most suitable for the growth of this plant is a 

 compost of equal parts turfy loam, peat of a sandy texture, and well- 

 decomposed leaf-soil; the two former broken up into small pieces, 

 and the latter passed through a coarse sieve : to this a liberal sup- 

 ply of silver-sand should be added, and the whole well blended to- 

 gether. For large plants, a few lumps of charcoal, broken to the 

 size of a small bean, will be found beneficial. During the growing 



